Chronicle 1: The Stars of the Fountain of Dreams
by Kracko64
Summary: Kirby, an insignificant citizen of Dreamland, is sent on a wild adventure when a strange ship crashes on an island in Orange Ocean. Based off of Kirby's Dreamland. Please R&R. New chapter. The beginning of the battle for the fourth star
1. Prologue: The war of Nightmare

Hey all, I'm Kracko64. This is my very first fan fiction that I'm going to post. This is something that I had started writing quite a few years ago, but I lost it. Now I want to bring it back. Basically this is a novelization of Kirby's games. I'm going to mix in a few elements from the anime and it will come to play a role in my story. However since Kirby has not been too big when it came to storyline, this will hopefully seem pretty original. This is just the prologue but I'm going to try and update this when I can which is difficult considering I have school. Anyways I hope you enjoy this.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Prologue

Dreams are a mysterious force. Many people believe that they are nothing more than random thoughts occurring in our sleep, having nothing to do with our reality. Some believe that dreams are sometimes prophetic visions of the future. Still others believe that dreams signify our wishes, our desires which we keep hidden from the rest of the world. However, there are some who believe that dreams are an actual force, having ramifications on the physical realm. It comes from an ancient legend.

Thousands of years ago, so the story goes, dreams flew from a spring like water. Back in those times, people did not dream as they do now. People who drank from this spring would have dreams. These dreams were not only projections of the imagination in the subconscious. These dreams would manifest themselves through their dreamers. At first, dreams were pure and good. But even such magnificent light and innocence could not last long before corruption began. One being began to dream dark dreams. At first these dreams stayed in the subconscious of this individual. The individual himself was not inherently evil; however the dreams became darker and overwhelmed him. However, while dreams would usually show themselves through the dreamer, the dream took a hideous form of its own.

This demonic creature was called the Nightmare. As it grew in power it began to consume the world of dreams, both on the physical and subconscious level. However, this was not enough for it. It began to pursue rule over other worlds. Many worlds put up resistance and some were able to thwart the Nightmare. However, the Nightmare began to take the dark dreams of others and turned them into monsters. World after world fell to the power of these fiends.

As the fate of all looked bleak, a legion of warriors rose up. They called themselves the Star Warriors, and began to fight back against the Nightmare. At first their legion included thousands of warriors. The Nightmare's forces, however, were too overwhelming and many Star Warriors fell in battle. Still the damage was being done. Planets, with the help of the Star Warriors, began to rise up against the tyrannical Nightmare. Eventually, the only planet that Nightmare had left was the world of dreams. The Nightmare mustered the most powerful beings from the deepest and darkest dreams. For awhile, it seemed that the army of the Nightmare seemed to be invincible. Though no one knows how, the Star Warriors used the dreams that the Nightmare thought it controlled and sealed the fiend away. On each of the planets, a fountain was built over the spring of dreams as a memorial to the terror that the Nightmare had brought and the bravery of the Star Warriors.

However, this is all just legend. Thousands of years have passed since then. People have either completely forgotten the Nightmare or only believe it to be a piece of ancient folklore. The Star Warriors are also believed to be legend as no one has seen one since the ancient times. But soon, the universe may need the Star Warriors again. The following writing is a chronicle of the journey of one Star Warrior, one who would prove to be the key in the workings of dreams and reality. The following is the chronicle of the Star Warrior: Kirby.

To be Continued

So what did you think? This is only the prologue and the actual story writing is going to be quite a bit different. I only added the whole ancient legend thing to get you guys to read more. There ain't much to review but you can if you want. I accept praise, comments, and constructive criticisms. I will ignore flames as people who flame either have anger issues or care waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much about such minor things. Anyways thanks for reading this and expect more soon (although, the internet at my school really sucks and I had to wait almost a week before I could post this…hopefully that will stop happening…).

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	2. Knight's in the Sky

Quick Question: I really want to be able to separate scenes, but whenever I load it up, it removes my lines or asterisks. If someone could let me know in a review how to do that, I would greatly appreciate it. The **_(Meanwhile)_**s look so bad. In fact, I won't update again until someone helps me out. Just think of it as an incentive.

This update came quickly. Wow, less than a day and I already have a review. Thanks a lot Xanxi! When I read that, I almost cried. Since this is my very first fanfic, I didn't expect to get a comment like that so soon. Oh, and I promise that I'm not trying to copy your story or anything like that. Like I said before I had come up with the idea quite a few years ago, so any similarities between our two stories are more coincidence than anything, not that you we're accusing me of copying so I guess it's not a big deal. Anyways after seeing that review, I just knew that I had to put up my first chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all char88acters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 1

Knight's in the Sky

The night sky of Popstar is one of the most beautiful sights in the known galaxy. The bluish sky dotted with thousands of stars of countless colors. The neighboring planets are just close enough that you can tell them apart, be it the greenish colors of the rocky Cavios, the bizarre raindrop-shape of Aquarius, or the white aura given off by the spherical ice world of Shiver Star. However, in this day and age, few people take time to look up and admire the majesty of night. One such person went by the name of Waddle Dee. He watched the stars through his telescope on the balcony outside his room at Castle Dedede. Waddle Dee was a servant there. He basically was a grunt who did most of the menial jobs no one else wanted to do.

Waddle Dee had two passions in life though: the dazzling stars in the sky and the legends surrounding those stars as well as his own planet. He had worked hard to collect book after book containing the legends of old: the Nightmare, the Star Warriors that defeated it, even the ancient landmarks that supposedly held great significance to them. Like everyone else though, Waddle Dee didn't believe it either. To him, they were a wonderful tribute to ancient story telling. What he saw that night would eventually change his and an entire galaxy's viewpoint on that.

He looked in his telescope towards Cavios. The large craters from ancient meteor collisions, and openings into the hollow planet interior always amazed him. As he started turning his telescope toward another planet he noticed something orbiting the planet. At first he thought he was seeing things but on closer inspection, he realized that it was a bird shaped spaceship, and a big one at that. He also noticed that the ship looked like it had just come from a battle and that it had either barely escaped or barely won.

"Wow…" Waddle Dee said as he admired the battle-worn cruiser. A few seconds later another ship approached it and this one looked in perfect condition

_**(Meanwhile)**_

He stared at the screen on the ship condition display. The Halberd may be one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy but they had barely gotten out of that ambush alive. Of course some slight satisfaction came out of the fact that they had bloodied the Spark Os' noses a bit. They were definitely getting smarter. The Spark O were a savage race of mechanical diamonds that only sought destruction. His job was to make sure they did not do that. Unfortunately, every time he fought them, they seemed to get smarter. He sighed and looked towards his crew. They were definitely the best in the galaxy.

"Butch," he said to his skull faced navigator, "Did we lose them?"

"It looks like it Meta Knight." He said to his blue, mask wearing leader. "I don't detect anymore Spark O contacts on radar. Looks like we're in the clear."

"Alright," said Meta Knight then turning to another crew member who was easily five times larger than he was. "Masher, do we still have weapons?"

"Barely," came the gruff voice of the giant. " Missile launchers are all but gone and we only have one laser cannon working. The gravity disrupter still works…but with the condition of our ship, using a weapon of that power would probably take out our ship."

"…Alright." Meta Knight then turned to the intercom to contact the rest of his crew. " Trila, how are the engine repairs coming."

"Not to well, Meta. We definitely need to dock somewhere soon…Sword is searching for any spaceports or stations in this system. Meta-Droid says that the repairs will take at least a week long."

Meta Knight sighed at the inconvenience that would put on his group. He then contacted his last two companions. "Sword, Blade, where are we?"

Sword answered first. "We're right next to Cavios, Meta Knight. Fortunately, they've got a space station called Mecheye. I've already contacted them and they said that they'd be willing to dock our ship."

Blade then chimed in, "Something else that I thought you'd be interested in, Popstar is very nearby."

"Popstar…" mused Meta Knight. _If we're going to be stuck here for a week…then I should go there to make sure that everything is still okay._

"Meta Knight!" yelled Butch. A Spark O cruiser is heading for us at high velocity.

Meta Knight looked on the viewing screen and saw the enormous solid diamond coming straight at them. "Sword, where's the star base?"

"On the other side of the planet. Sir, their jamming our communications."

Meta Knight rubbed his head in frustration then came to a decision. "…Butch, head for Popstar as fast as is safe."

Butch looked confused, " but Sir, we're closer to Cavios and Popstar doesn't have any rep-"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Head there NOW!"

Butch calmly turned around, "Yes, Sir Meta Knight." He turned the Halberd away from the Spark O ship and headed for Popstar. Moments later, the ship rocked from the heavy laser fire.

_**(Meanwhile)**_

"Oh WOW!" Dee said as he saw the diamond shaped ship fire at the other. Dee turned an ran into the room to wake up his cousin.

"Doo! Doo! You've gotta see this. There's a big space battle and the ships are really duking it out and it looks so awesome. C'mon, c'mon. Come and see!"

Doo slowly opened his single eye. "Dee…it's 2 in the morning. The king wants breakfast at Kawasaki's tomorrow…go to sleep."

"But I saw-"

"I don't care what you saw! It's late and we gotta get up early tomorrow. Good night." Doo then closed his eye and went back to sleep.

"Fine…I'll just watch it by myself," said Dee, a little sad that his cousin was so nonchalant. As he looked back in his telescope he noticed that the two ships were a lot closer to Popstar now. The diamond one looked like it had barely suffered any damage while the bird-shaped one was buckling. Then the ship seemed to charge up one of its cannons and let loose an enormous laser beam that instantly vaporized the diamond ship. "Holy cow!" shouted Dee. The bird shaped ship began to fall towards Popstar though.

_**(Meanwhile)**_

"It worked Meta Knight," said Masher, "but it was too much stress on the engine. The reactor's all but dead, we're being pulled toward the planet."

Meta Knight hit the comm. Button. "All crew brace for impact, we're going to be coming down on the planet Popstar. Butch steer us away from any populated areas, I don't want to attract any attention. Trila, you and Meta-Droid get out of the engine room. We're going down."

The Halberd began to sink into the atmosphere, picking up speed. Butch did his job well, and crashed the ship onto a remote island. Unfortunately for Meta Knight, they didn't go unnoticed. "Wow…I'm gonna check it out tomorrow," said Waddle Dee deciding that the excitement was over and it was time to go to bed.

To be continued

Alright, it's getting longer. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed it. By the way, I'm using the KDL2 names for the Meta clan. That is, Butch is Meta Axe, Masher is Meta Chain. Trila is actually Meta Lance. I made the name from her weapon (a trident) and her Meta clan name. I'm also going to use short nicknames for certain characters: Waddle Dee – Dee, Poppy Bros. Jr. – Poppy Jr. or just Poppy, etc. Please review. Remember, praise, comments, suggestions, constructive criticism are all welcome. Flames are dumb and will be ignored. Thanks for reading and I might update soon.


	3. Sleeping in Not Good

Sigh...despite my best efforts and empty threats, no one has helped me with my little problem.;; C'mon people help me out here. I wanna separate my scenes in a smooth, pretty manner.

New chapter up...but if your here, you probably know that. Again, your words are very encouraging Xanxi, but I wanna here from the rest of you. I have over 20 hits on my last chapter, but no one reviews. That makes Kracko64 sad.;; I wanna know what you guys think. Anyways, this chapter is definitely gonna be a bit slow in the "things are happening department", but please bear with it. There's gonna be lots of action but I gotta introduce the characters first and well...this is it.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 2

Sleeping in Not Good

Most days of Dreamlanders could be considered simple. They truly were an easygoing people who were content to live through life without any wild excitements. This was mostly true for those who owned restaurants as well. However, once a year, these restaurants would be put under such a strenuous test that the owners would have to take up to a week off to recover from the mental stress. Once a year, the self-proclaimed ruler of Dreamland, King Dedede would, over the course of several days, visit each restaurant and rate things such as food, service, and cleanliness. Today, the king would visit the restaurant of one Chef Kawasaki.

Now, Chef Kawasaki would not be considered the most patient of Dreamlanders. He demanded three things of his employees: perfection in cooking, grace in service, and punctuality. Surprisingly, most of Kawasaki's employees fit the bill. Unfortunately for him, all but one had called in sick that day. Truth be told, it was because every time that Dedede ate at Kawasaki's, one person lost their job, no matter how well the service or food had been.

The one employee that showed up went by the name of Rocky, who appropriately enough was a living boulder. If anyone of Kawasaki's employee's jobs were safe, it was his. His cooking was good, but his service was excellent. He always made sure that customers were properly attended to and was prompt in service. With all those assets though, Rocky still wouldn't be able to cook food and wait on Dedede at the same time, and Kawasaki was too stressed out to make any food. This left Kawasaki's only other employee left. This employee however, was less than stellar. While his cooking was excellent, his tableside manner was hardly worth note, and he was constantly late. So when he didn't show up in the morning to help Kawasaki prepare for Dedede's arrival, one can imagine his reaction.

"I'm gonna KILL HIM!" cried out the furious chef.

Rocky was in the main room making sure that everything was shipshape. _I can't believe you're late today of all days. It's a wonder Kawasaki hasn't fired you yet…Kirby, you better get here soon…_

On the outskirts of Dreamland there was a small house. In this house lived a young Dreamlander. This happened to be the same Kirby who was the focus of Kawasaki's rage. He stretched as he woke up. "Heh, alarm hasn't gone off yet, I must've woken up early…wonder what time it is." Kirby looked over to his alarm clock; it read 11:24 A.M. After blinking a few time's, Kirby, realizing that he was over four hours late rushed out of his house and towards Dream City. He was confronted by an unwanted acquaintance.

"Hey Kirby! What's up!" came the irritating voice of Knuckle Joe. Kirby, knowing Joe would just follow him if ignored knew that he had to talk his way out of this.

"…What do you want now Joe?" Kirby stated irritatingly

"Oh, I was just wandering if you reconsidered my offer."

Kirby sighed. "No Joe, I'm not going to go with you on a journey to find your father. I mean seriously, you've never even met the man before. How do you even know that he's in Dreamland, or for that matter Popstar? Give it a rest Joe. Besides, what if w run into some bad characters along the way, I can't fight, and you by yourself probably wouldn't be able to take them on your own. Look Joe, I gotta get to work. If I don't, Kawasaki's going to fry my butt and serve it on a silver platter."

"But…" It was too late for Joe, Kirby had already continued running off toward town. Joe walked dejectedly away. "Alright…I guess I should find someone else…"

Kirby rushed into the front door of Kawasaki's, knocking Rocky over and into a small sculpture. The sculpture never stood a chance. Kirby rushed straight in front of Kawasaki. "I'm here boss." Kirby said with a stupid smile on his face.

Kawasaki glared with rage. "I don't care what your excuse is. I don't care how even you could possibly be FOUR AND-A-HALF HOURS LATE! You're going to get into that kitchen and make me a masterpiece in the next two-and-a-half hours or so help me, I will make sure you will never work in this city again!" Kawasaki then turned to take care of the mess caused by Kirby's dash through the restaurant.

Kirby sat to think for a minute "Alright…masterpiece…what should I make…only two-and-a-half hours…that's not a lot of time. I know! Kawasaki says I make great beef Curry. That only takes two hours. Okay…let's see…where's that recipe book?" Kirby looked through all the cabinets but to no avail. "Okay, keep your cool Kirby…you know this recipe...two pounds of diced beef…browned on all sides. Then I put it into a casserole dish along with…a sliced onion…four green Cardamom pods…2 bay leaves and…uh…a garlic clove! Alright I am so on this!"

Kirby prepared the dish and after putting it into the oven went on to make the paste. "Alright. Oh yeah I remember this, add two teaspoons of curry powder…or was it tablespoons…oh man, I don't remember…well curry is spicy so…uh…probably tablespoons. Okay two tablespoons of curry powder, one of chilli powder and one of mustard powder. Add them to water and…" One could go into further detail of what Kirby did but it's safe to say that Kirby made the Curry without incident.

At 2:00 a tank bearing the royal seal, which was, oddly enough, a white rabbit head, pulled up in front of Kawasaki's. On the verge of losing his mind he barged into the kitchen "KIRBY! Is it ready!"

"Just about boss, and if I don't mind saying so, I did a pretty darn good job." Kirby said pridefully.

"You better hope so, or my next dish will be fried omelet with essence of Kirby!" He then rushed out to great the king.

To Be Continued

PLEASE REVIEW!11elevn! I accept comments, praise, constructive criticisms, suggestions, etc. Remember: Flamers Dumby Heads


	4. I Guess it Was Teaspoons

Another chapter's up. My internet has been giving me some trouble, but I think I've taken care of it. Anyway, thanks for you're help Xanxi and your review. I double checked my spelling and grammer more carefully this time. Oddly enough, I use Microsoft Word which does have grammer/spell check...oh well. Hey to the rest of you: please review. I understand that not much action has happened, but even if you don't review, keep up with the story. We're only a few chapters away from the adventure so give me a chance. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

I Guess it Was Teaspoons

Waddle Dee, carrying a rolled up red carpet, was the first to get out of the tank. He rolled out the carpet leading from the tank to the inside of Kawasaki's. Waddle Doo then jumped out carrying the royal flag of Dreamland. He then made this proclamation: "Announcing the arrival of his amazing royal Highness, the undisputed ruler of Dreamland, the compassionate, the graceful, the wonderful: King Dedede!"

"Alright, so where's my grub?" said the large red-robed penguin that walked out next.

"Aaaaaahhhh! Sire! It will be here soon!" said Kawasaki, his face completely on the ground. "PLEASE COME IN SO THAT WE MAY SERVE YOU!" Kawasaki was now grabbing onto the king's robes.

Waddle Doo looked disapprovingly then turned to Rocky. "I certainly hope this is not how you treat most customers."

Rocky, realizing that his boss' charm was coming very close to costing him his job, decided to take control of the situation. "Your Highness, if you would follow me, I will see to it that you are fully waited on."

"Uh, yeah thanks…" said Dedede as he shaked Kawasaki off his robes. "Yeah, lead the way, stony."

"Of course…your majesty…" he then turned to his boss who was still lying flat on the floor, "Boss, I would suggest that you check on you-know-who to make sure he hasn't completely destroyed the meal."

"Uh…right! I leave the king in your hands…at least I have one competent employee." Kawasaki proceeded to the kitchen, still looking completely deranged.

"Finished…well, not bad. I'm sure DeDeDork will be satisfied. Hm…ya know, I am kinda hungry right now…I did make plenty so…maybe just a little bit…Kawasaki would never notice." Kirby got out a bowl and poured a bowl. "Hm…still looks really hot, oh well, I better hurry before Kawasaki gets in here." Kirby then poured the contents into his mouth. "Mmmmmm…oh yeah that's some good stuff!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Kirby turned to see Kawasaki standing in the doorway. Kirby could see a vein on his forehead. Kirby came to the conclusion that Kawasaki was unhappy. "DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME! I'M NOT ABOUT TO LET YOU RUIN MY BUSINESS BECAUSE OF YOU"RE BOTTOMLESS PIT! NOW, POUR A BOWL RIGHT NOW!"

"Uh…right away bo-" Kirby then began to feel funny. Then he realized that his tongue was burning…and not just hot hot, but spicey hot, really, really, REALLY SPICEY HOT. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Kirby then ran out of the kitchen and right into King Dedede's table, knocking it over and landing a large salad bowl on Dedede's head. This didn't slow Kirby down at all. He continued to run across the restaurant, leaving disaster in his path. Seeing Rocky carrying a glass of water ran right into him, also knocking him down. He then grabbed the glass and drank it down. "Aaaahhh…" Steam came out of Kirby's mouth.

Waddle Doo helped the king up then walked over to Rocky. "How can you just up and allow the king to be attacked in your establishment? If I weren't feeling so gracious, I'd have you all arrested. Sire, are you all right?"

"I can't believe you guys would assaultinate me like that! I'm closin' this dangerifical food-eatin' place. Let's go Waddle Doo!" The two of them walked out of Kawasaki's.

Kirby stood up and sighed in relief. "Phew, that was pretty nuts wasn't it Rocky…uh Rocky?" Rocky just glared at Kirby with seething rage. "Uh, dude, what's up with you? Hey boss do you know what's up with-" Kirby turned to see his boss with pent-up rage. Then he turned to see the place completely torn up. "Oh…"

* * *

About two minutes later, Kirby was lying in the dumpster behind Kawasaki's. _Ya know, I'm really not surprised by this turn of events…oh well, guess I better go home…_Kirby squeezed out of the pot that the two had stuffed him in. Kirby then stretched and began to walk home. Then he saw Waddle Dee, still carrying the carpet, walking towards the castle. "Hey Dee, why aren't you with Doo and Dedede?"

"Uh…they kind of forgot me. So I gotta walk back to the castle."

"Oh…well that sucks," said Kirby, feeling sympathy for his friend.

"Um…not really; they do this all the time. It's something you kinda get used to…oh wait, actually, since I guess that Dedede shut you guys down, you got the rest of the day free, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Why, Dee?"

"Well, you'll never guess what I saw last night. These two huge spaceships were having a huge battle. It was crazy…Well anyways, one of them came crashing down on what appears to be a deserted island at the Orange Island. I figured that there were probably no survivors so…I'm gonna go check it out. Wanna come?"

Kirby blinked trying to figure out just what his friend was suggesting. "So…you want to go to a deserted island out in the middle of nowhere. Once we get there, we're going to explore the wreckage of a spacecraft. Now, regardless of what you just said, there may be survivors, and they may or may not be violent…I gotta be crazy, but let's go. When?"

"Oh, I just gotta get this back to the castle. I'll meet you at the docks in an hour."

"Sounds good," said Kirby. Dee then walked off to the castle.

To be Continued

Alright, Please R&R. You know what I like; you know what i don't like. If you think my stories weak and boring, don't worry: it won't last much longer.


	5. Discovery

Hey, its been awhile. I've been busy with school, and honestly, this chapter was hard to write. I hope I did a good enough job with it. I double-checked for grammatical errors and such, and I think I got most of them...but maybe not. Xanxi, as always, thank you for the comments(btw, I had reviwed your latest chapter in your story, but alas, it never showed up on the review page :P)As for everyone else, please review. I've got nearly 150 hits. I'd like to know what some of you think. Any leitimate comment is welcome. You don't like something, tell me. I appreciate constructive criticism, and will consider it.

By the way, just as a small blooper for those interested: The Spark O's actual name is Spark i, a mistake on my part. For those who played Kirby 64, the Spark i were these blue diamonds that floated in the air and took potshots at Kirby. Just a fun little fact here. And for those who've ever seen the Kirby anime (specifically the Japanese) one of Meta Knight's lines in this chapter is taken from the first anime episode, in, oddly enough, a rather similar circumstance. See if you can find it.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 4

Discovery

Meta Knight stood atop the wreckage of the Halberd. The hull had been torn apart by the entry into Popstar's atmosphere. Much of his crew was also missing. He had spent hours searching for his missing companions but so far had only found Sword and Meta-Droid. He sat down to rest, contemplating the possibility that he very well may have lost most of his team. Even so, he had a mission to complete here.

Meta-Droid, a dark-green colored, domed head robot, hovered up to him. "Status report: Blade has been located."

"…Where?" said Meta Knight, feeling a glimmer of hope that he may still find his team.

"His location is at the remains of the navigational station. It is approximately one quarter of a mile away from here," Stated the mechanical voice.

"Show me." The two headed in that direction.

They found Blade and Sword trying to lift a large piece of debris. Blade wore light-green armor while Sword wore light-blue armor. As Meta Knight approached they stopped and turned to their leader. Blade spoke first. "Sir, Trila seems to be deep in the wreckage. She called out to us awhile ago. We've been trying to move the debris…but there's too much. We could use your help sir."

Meta Knight nodded then turned to Meta-Droid. "Go search for Masher and Butch."

"Affirmative." The robot flew off into one of the more heavily vegetated area.

Meta Knight then joined his two companions as they again attempted to lift the large piece of metal. After a few minutes of no success, they sat down to think of other solutions.

"Sir, if we could use another piece as a lever, we may be able to lift the piece," suggested Sword.

"…Alright, we'll use that piece over there. We can't lift too fast, otherwise we may bring the whole thing down on-"

Meta Knight was cut off by a laser blast barely missing him and hitting the large piece of debris, obliterating it. He turned to see about a dozen Spark O. "It looks like the Spark O sent for reinforcements…" Meta Knight pulled out a bladeless hilt. "Sword, Blade…let's do this."

* * *

Kirby and Waddle Dee anchored the small motor boat they had to a rock on the islands beach. About an hour after leaving the harbor, they found a large amount of smoke coming from one of the more distant islands and had decided to head towards it. The island looked like the average jungle island. Kirby, slightly confused on what Dee wanted to accomplish decided to inquire upon the subject. "So, Dee, why are we here again?" 

"We're here to find the space ship. There may be some interesting stuff on it." Dee said as he began to walk off into the forest.

"Yeah, but I've been thinking and, well, if there were survivors down here, then don't you think they'd at least be annoyed that we're snooping around in there stuff? And what if they're mean and nasty? Then we're really in trouble."

"Kirby, we spent a good two hours finding this place. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to explore here," Dee said, masking the fact that what his friend had just said was probably very true.

"If you say so Dee," Kirby sighed. The two walked into the tree covered area. "Dee, why are you so curious about these guys, anyways?"

"If you had seen what their ship did, you'd want to know about them too. Last night, they were in a battle with another ship, and then they suddenly just completely took it out with some massive beam. Then it came crashing down. Think about what discoveries about these people we could make."

"Dee, you really are crazy. If these guys are as tough as you make them sound then maybe we should…" Kirby was stopped from speaking by four blue-colored diamonds surrounding them. "Uh Dee…I think we might be in some trouble…" This was a pointless thing to say as Dee had already fainted out of sheer terror. One of the diamonds began to open, revealing a black orb with a menacing, yellow eye. The eyes began to glow seeming to charge some sort of energy. Kirby braced for the worst.

Suddenly, an axe flew across in a boomerang-like fashion. Three of the Diamond creatures were sliced in half, consecutively exploding. Kirby and Dee turned around to see a skull-faced creature, wearing a horned red helmet. The other diamond creature spun around, beginning to charge again. A giant mace came crashing down on top of it, obliterating the diamond. The mace was held by a giant in dark-blue armor.

"Butch, are you alright?" said the giant.

The skull-faced axe wielder nodded. "Yeah, Masher, I'm fine…What about those two? They definitely aren't Spark O."

Masher nodded. "Probably just some of the natives…I wouldn't worry about them."

Butch nodded. "Right." He began to walk away when he turned around to get another look at Kirby. He slowly walked up to him. "Are you from this area?"

Kirby quickly shook his head, intimidated by the skulled warrior.

Butch continued to stare at him. "What is your name?"

Kirby slowly gulped as he let out just enough air to pronounce his name.

Butch stood there for a second, looking as if he was struggling to make a decision. Then, he suddenly brought his axe out and held the blunt end against Kirby. "Alright kid, you're coming with us. Don't try to run away, because you'll just make it harder for yourself. Masher, pick up the other one. These two are our prisoners now."

* * *

Meta Knight sheathed his blade. The Spark O had underestimated them again. Blade and Sword were now pulling Trila out of the remaining wreckage. Blade walked up to Meta Knight. "She's lost consciousness, but it doesn't look like she was badly injured. We still don't know where Masher and Butch are though." 

Meta Knight nodded. "They're a hardy bunch. They'll be fine. In the meantime, we have to set up a shelter. Blade, do you think you could repair the communications device? We need to be able to contact Cavios. We don't need to be here long, just long enough for me to check on the Fountain of Dreams."

"But sir, do you really think that there is any danger?" inquired Blade.

"I'm not sure…I just have a feeling that…never mind. Get those repairs started." Blade walked off. Meta Knight sat down, contemplating many things: his missing comrades, getting off the planet…the Dream Spring. In the middle of his thoughts he was interrupted by Meta-Droid. "Butch and Masher have returned. There are two other life forms with them. One is unconscious, the other appears to be walking between them. They have requested to see you."

Meta Knight, with Meta-Droid behind him, stood up and walked to the awaiting warriors, sincerely hoping that they had not caused any trouble. He saw Masher and Butch walking in the distance. He couldn't see the other one standing between them. Masher appeared to be carrying a small brownish life form. He approached them. "Masher. Butch. I certainly hope that there is a good reason behind this."

Butch nodded. "We found them in the forest, surrounded by Spark O. We were going to let them go…but then I saw this one and thought that you'd be interested." He moved aside to reveal Kirby standing there, still confused on the situation.

Meta Knight walked up to Kirby, his yellow eyes turning to a slight green color. "I…see…" He then turned away. "Let them go…"

"Sir, are you sure?" said Butch. Meta Knight turned and glared at him, his eyes turning crimson red. "Yes Sir." He and Masher began to take the two back into the forest area.

Meta Knight turned to Meta-Droid. "When they get back, we're going to have a meeting…we may be here longer than we thought."

To be Continued

R-E-V-I-E-W, I hope this word means somethin' to you. Love the story? Tell me. Hate it? Tell me why. Trust me, if you genuinely don't like it, I'll be willing to listen to your reasons. Expect the next chapter up soon. Probably sooner than this one.


	6. Mission

;; Nobody loves Kracko64. Ah well...you can't kill my spirit you non-reviewing...non-reviewers. Regardless of the lack of love, I will bless you ( what?) with another chapter. Anyways, please read AND REVIEW. Kracko64 likes the reviews. By the way, I apologize for the numerous grammatical and spelling errors I make. I try to catch them, but it's so easy to overlook errors.

By the way, I'm keeping Dedede's lack of mastery of the proper rules of the English language. I think it adds some comic flavor because...frankly, Dedede's an idiot, but an awesome idiot! I'm also gonna use a lot of KSS helpers as characters as well. (You've probably already noticed a couple). Anyways enjoy. We're close to the actual adventure. w00t

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 5

Mission

Kirby was taken back to Dee's motorboat by the two armored beings. His head was spinning with questions. The strangest thing was that none of these questions had really occurred to him until he saw the masked knight. _Who is he? Why do I get the feeling I know him? Why did he react so strangely when he saw me? What were those diamond-like creatures anyway? Why did they let me go? Are they friends or enemies?_

Once they arrived to the boat, the giant put Dee, who was still unconscious, in the boat. The skull-faced warrior turned to Kirby and said one more thing. "Kid, it'll be in all are best interests if you don't tell anybody about us. You clear on that?"

Kirby nodded. "…Yeah…" The two warriors left the beach and walked back into the jungle area. Kirby, still contemplating the bizarre turn of events, started the motor boat and drove it away from the island back to Dreamland.

Dee slowly regained his consciousness and looked around, glad he was still alive. He glanced over to his friend, who had a much more serious look on than Dee had ever seen on him before. "Hey Kirby…what happened back there?"

Kirby didn't look at his friend. "The diamond creatures…left…after that, I drug you back to the boat and headed toward Dreamland…" Kirby lied, knowing that his friend would just have to take his word for it.

"Oh…alright…" said Dee, "So…do you think that they're invaders?"

"I don't know Dee…" said Kirby, thinking along the same lines, but not about the blue diamonds. "I have a lot on my mind right now…we can talk about it later…" said Kirby, wanting Dee to stop asking him questions that he wouldn't answer.

"Sure," said Dee, now really worried about his friend. Kirby had never been this serious about anything before. They eventually arrived on the Dreamland coast and went their separate ways. Kirby walked back to his house, wondering what these beings were going to do on his planet.

* * *

Meta Knight sat around a makeshift circular table, along with the rest of his crew, minus Trila, who was still recovering from the crash. His job had been simple enough: Check the status of the Fountain of Dreams. But now that Meta Knight had found him_…There isn't much time left...I must begin his training soon…_He knew his crew would understand and be ready whenever he would need them. He pulled out a small star-shaped object, wrapped in a deep-blue layer of cloth. _He'll need this soon…_

He turned to his crew, still unsure as how to best proceed. "I'm going to the fountain tonight…I'll be back eventually. Until then, I have a few instructions. Sword, Blade, keep repairing our off-world communications and contact Cavios once you've finished. Butch, Masher, salvage any useful materials from the remains of our ship. Meta-Droid,if you can access the main computer, download as much information about Popstar that you can, regardless of how insignificant it is…I'll need you to bring it to me tomorrow morning…"

Butch turned questioningly to Meta Knight. "Sir, do you have a plan on what to do about him?" Butch said with meaning.

"…" Meta Knight didn't say anything in response to Butch's query. _What am I going to do? I didn't think that we'd find him here of all places…_ "You have your jobs…I'll be gone for at least a few days…Dismissed." Meta Knight turned from the table and walked away. There was work to be done…

* * *

Meanwhile, at Castle Dedede, Waddle Doo was really miffed. His cousin was really late to his shift. He had told Dee to be back by 8:00. It was now nearly 9:00 and his cousin had yet to show up. He had been stuck taking care of Dedede's every whim. This was a job he had gotten out of over a year ago and was also one he did not want to deal with again. "Hey, Waddle Doo! It's hot in here. Stop slackin', keep fannin'!" said Dedede. 

"Yes sire…" _Stupid Dee, he's really gonna get it when he gets back._ After a few more aggravating minutes of doting on Dedede, Dee came running into the throne room. "Waddle Dee! Why are you so late! You've just earned yourself three extra shifts! Why were you so late anyways? I mean, I gave you five hours to do your thing. Jeez!"

Dee just stood there waiting for his cousin to finish his lecture. He had bigger things to worry about. "Sorry cuz, but I've got big news: we have alien invaders. I saw them myself. They're these little blue diamond creatures. I'll bet that they're planning for an invasion any day!"

Hearing this Dedede became interested. "Wha! You sayin' that some alien invasioners are gonna take us out? Well we gotta do somethin'! Hey, Waddle Doo, is that new airship flyin' thing ready?"

"Uh, I don't know. Capsule J was the chief technician behind it. He had started the construction about six months ago. I can go ask him, sire," stated Doo.

Dedede nodded. "Yeah, bring him here. If the ships ready, we're gonna go blastinate those aliens."

To be Continued

PLEASE REVIEW! More reviews mean quicker updates so review today! With that, I bid you adieu mes amis!


	7. A Dreadful Scheme

New Chapter! Yay! I really want to update more, but I'm so busy. Sigh. Anyways, I've got...ANOTHER REVIEWER! XD Thanks alot you two! Now the rest of you follow Lady HexaKnight's example and review. Anyways, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 6

A Dreadful Scheme

Kirby was tossing in his bed, thoughts of the day still plaguing him. It was now nearly midnight and Kirby had been trying to get some sleep for the past two hours, but there were just too many questions in his head. He had thought about it all day, but to no avail. He just couldn't find the answers. _I know I've seen that masked man somewhere…but I just can't put my finger on where or when_. As Kirby processed his thoughts, he was shaken by a violent tremor. He quickly rushed outside to see what had happened. He saw the grass at the foot of Mount Dedede begin to part. A large zeppelin rose from the hole in the ground and once it was high in the sky, it started to move away from the castle and_…towards the ocean…_Kirby hoped that Dedede wasn't going to try and cause trouble.

* * *

Meta Knight stood at the edge of the beach on the deserted island that he temporarily would call home. He still held the wrapped star-shaped object in his hand, knowing it would soon be time for him to pass it on. He walked toward the water. Two purple bat-like wings expanded from his back, coming out of there hiding place under his cape. He flapped his wings causing him to rise off the ground. He then flew off toward to the mainland. He passed over the dark-blue ocean, the only things visible being the silhouettes of different islands and the main continent that held the Dream Fountain. He did however hear a slight rumbling, almost the sound of an engine. He stopped gliding forward, looking around to see what was producing the noise. He eventually looked up, noticing a zeppelin flying past him and toward the island. Meta Knight was worried that they may be going to attack the remains of the Halberd, but…he had a mission to complete, and the sooner he got it done, the better. _My crew can handle themselves_. He contacted his crew to let them know that trouble was coming. "Blade, do you copy?" 

He was returned with a "yes sir".

"If you can make any of the Halberd's weapon's systems functional, do it. You may soon have some unwanted visitors."

"We'll see what we can do sir."

* * *

King Dedede, led by Waddle Doo and Waddle Dee walked onto the main bridge of the zeppelin, Kaboola. Capsule J, the ship's captain stood at attention at Dedede's entrance and saluted. "His Highness is on the bridge." The rest of the crew stood, turning towards Dedede and saluted. 

"Yeah alright, you guys just keep doin' what you're doin'," said Dedede walking up to Capsule J, who, in his grey body suit, looked very similar to Waddle Doo, aside from the jet pack on his back. "So Captain, we found where those alien thingies are hidin'?"

"Yes, sire. We've traced the crashing point of the alien ship to this island. We shall arrive shortly," said Capsule J.

Waddle Dee still looked worried. "Well, even if we do find them, can this ship beat whatever they have?"

Capsule J seemed to smirk under his suit. "Kid, let me tell you a little bit about this ship. She's got two large cannons on her sides, machine guns covering all her sides, and a dozen rocket launchers. I think that we'll be able to handle whatever these invaders throw at us. This ship is the forerunner of the next generation of Dreamland technology."

Waddle Doo looked disapprovingly at Dee. "This is what happens when you speak. You just make a fool out of yourself. Now be quiet and go get the King something to drink." Dee, feeling rejected, slowly walked out of the room.

One of the crew turned to Capsule J. "Sir, we are nearing the island. I'm reading minimal energy readings. We may have caught the aliens by surprise."

"Alright. Sire, may I suggest you find a place to sit." Capsule J turned and walked swiftly back toward his chair, and after inputting a code, several strategic screens came out of his chair. "Battle stations! We're going to fly in swift, do as much damage as we can, and get out of there. Prepare to descend on my mark…3…2…1…Mark! Arm the main cannons. Load Rocket launchers. Ready defense systems incase they send up bogeys."

The ship began to descend. Two panels opened up on the side and a pair of large cannons came out. Several panels also opened, revealing the rocket launchers.

"Increase speed. Charge main guns. Fire on my command."

"Sir!" said one of the crew members. "I'm getting some energy readings. Their small right now, but they're building up swiftly. It looks like a weapon."

"…These guys are good," Mused Capsule J. "Pull up now! We'll come in from a different angle. Find that weapon and lock onto it." The ship began to rise up. As it did, a large laser beam came from the island, barely hitting the engine. Capsule J looked alarmed as the ship heavily rocked. "Pull back! Take us to a farther distance." the ship made a wide turn and headed away. "What's the status of the engine?"

"We've taken an indirect hit. We've lost about 43 of our maneuverability and speed," stated a crewmember.

"…Head back to the castle…we'll formulate another plan there. I ask for your forgiveness my liege," said Capsule J as he kneeled before Dedede.

Dedede, however, was too busy looking for a plastic bag or bucket. The ship's rocking wasn't helping him keep his dinner down either. "Yeah…that's nice…ugh…" he rushed out of the room hoping to find a bathroom.

"…Status report," Capsule J stated after watching Dedede.

A crew member turned his chair around. "We're trying to stabilize the systems…but it's very possible that we're going to have to put down before we reach the castle, sir." The ship violently rocked as if it were responding to him. "Sir! We're losing altitude! I think we'll make back to the mainland, but there is no way we'll arrive at the castle. We need to make immediate repairs to the engine systems."

"Alright, put down in a wide area, keep us as stable as possible as we come in." He then looked at his screen to look for an area to put down. "…I'm giving you the coordinates to the outskirts of the Fountain of Dreams…It's the largest open area in the vicinity."

* * *

Meta Knight stood in front of the Fountain of Dreams, a special scanning device in his hands. Meta Knight walked around the structure, looking over the device intently. The results weren't good. The power flowing through the Dream Spring was fluctuating. No one had looked to balancing the power of the Fountain of Dreams in quite some time. _It's a good thing I came when I did…a few more years and the full power of these dreams would've been released again…I'm going to need some special equipment. Perhaps the Cavios government can help us…_in the middle of his thoughts he saw the same zeppelin setting down near his position. Meta Knight dashed away to the nearby brush to hide until they would leave.

* * *

"Sire, are you alright now?" said Waddle Doo, as King Dedede had walked back into the room, looking better now.

"Uh yeah…just don't use the bathroom for awhile. So, uh, where are we at anyways?"

Waddle Dee came back onto the bridge. He would've had the drink for Dedede, but the constant shaking of the ship had destroyed every glass on the ship. He looked outside immediately recognizing the area. "Ooh…the Fountain of Dreams. I've waited a long time to see this place. I've always wanted to see if any of the legends about that place are true. Ya know, they say that there is an incredible power source there…I wonder if it's true."

Hearing the word power, Dedede was immediately interested. "Power, like what kind of power?"

"I don't know, but apparently, there are these objects around the Fountain that contain a great amount of power in them…why do you ask, Sire?"

A wicked smile formed on Dedede's face. "Oh, nothin', but I think that after all this time, you should be able to explorificate the place. In fact, I'll go too. Waddle Doo, get some men and come with us. Hey, Capsule J. Finish up those repairs by the time we get back."

To be Continued

Dun Dun DUN! Heh heh. Anyways, the craziest thing happened before I posted this. Mr. T came in, grabbed my computer, and read my story. Afterwards he had this to say: "I pity the fool who don't read and review this!" Take Mr. T's advice! Or else!


	8. Should've Kept His Mouth Closed

Another chapter already? Why not? Too all (2) of my adoring reviewers: thank you! Well, Lady HexaKnight, you thought the last chapter was too short? (though technically it was my 2nd longest yet...hmmm...) Well heres my second shortest. XD Sorry, but I just couldn't add anything else to this chapter because it just wouldn't transition right. Thanks for the invite Xanxi, I'll check it out...but it's late now and I have early classes tomorrow. And for those of you who have been waiting for some "Kirby sucks up the powers of the bad guys and uses them against them and beats them up because Kirby owns" action, you are one chapter away from that. Next chapter, the adventure begins. :D

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 7

Should've Kept His Mouth Closed

Waddle Dee walked on the grounds of the Fountain of Dreams. The ground underneath his feet was soft from the constant water flow from the Fountain of Dreams. The water flowing from the fountain wasn't a natural color. It seemed to constantly changing colors, all of them soft colors though. The plants around the fountain were unworldly colors. The trees were purple with blue leaves. The smaller plants had similar combinations of colors. Nothing looked like it should've, but it did look real. Dee then noticed four pedestals resting around the fountain. On each pedestal a different colored star floated, one brown, one blue, one orange, and one purple. "The Sparkling Stars…"

King Dedede, followed by Waddle Doo walked up to Dee. "Man this here place looks freaky. So, tell me about it."

"Really? Oh, well alright. So, this is the Fountain of Dreams. It rests over the Dream Spring, the supposed source of all dreams. That's where the strange water comes from. The water is said to be the essence of all dreams. Of course that's really just speculation and old rumors. Anyways, there's this really interesting legend behind it. Supposedly a long time ago-"

"Yeah, yeah. That's all well and good, but what about the great power you were talking about before? Tell me that," said Dedede impatiently.

Dee began to suspect that the king had ulterior motives, but he wasn't about to disobey him. "Well…you see these four stars right here? These are called the Sparkling Stars. Each one controls a different aspect of the planet. Take this brown one for instance. It keeps the land of Popstar stable. Without it, the land would basically die, we'd have a huge increase in violent tremors, and nothing could grow. Now the orange one keeps the planet warm. Basically, without it, Popstar would freeze. The blue one-"

"So your sayin' that if we controlled these here stars, we pretty much control the planet. Hmm…hey Waddle Doo, you and your men get these here stars and take 'em back to the ship."

"Yes, sire."

Dee's eyes widened, realizing what Dedede was going to do. "Wait, Sire! If you remove these stars, Popstar will eventually be destroyed!"

"Yeah, like how long?" said Dedede

"Well, it would be at least half a centurey before anything significant happened but-"

"And if we put them back, will the planet get betta'?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then I don't see what you so worried about. We need 'em to take out those aliens."

"…but sire…"

"Now if you don't like it, you can go back to the ship and cry there." Dedede then walked away as Waddle Doo and several crew members removed the four stars. Waddle Dee just stood there and watched. What could he do? He had to get help, tell somebody anybody. Dee ran off as Dedede and Waddle Doo loaded up the stars, completely forgetting about Waddle Dee. Capsule J had finished the repairs and the ship headed back towards Castle Dedede, not noticing the figure that had popped out of the brush.

* * *

Meta Knight came out, having heard every word they had said and seen what they had done. But it could have been worse. They didn't get all the stars. There was one left that went completely unnoticed. Meta Knight walked back to the fountain and looked at the white star that looked like nothing more than a decoration on the Fountain. _As long as this star remains, we won't have any problems._ Still, the fact that these beings had removed the Stars was a convenient turn of events. He could begin the training right away now. He would have to...but there was one more thing he had to do though. He couldn't risk these guys having all four elemental stars. His wings expanded and he flew off toward the zeppelin.

* * *

Dedede sat comfortably as Waddle Doo held onto the stars. "Well, we got a lot done tonight Waddle Doo! When we get back, we're gonna find out how to use these stars." Suddenly, an energy beam broke right through the cabin causing the ship to violently shake. Waddle Doo fell down losing his grip on all but the purple star. They landed on the floor and rolled toward the gaping hole in the cabin, falling out. 

Dedede got back up, completely infuriated. "Yo, Capsule J, what in tarnation are you doing? I should take away your flying person's license!"

"I'm sorry, sire. We were hit by something…"

"I saw a huge laser thingy! You call that somehtin'? Waddle Doo where are the stars? You're only holding one!"

Waddle Doo stood back up dazed then noticed he only had the purple star. "Uh…I don't know, Sire…" They then all looked towards the large hole.

Dedede was really mad now. "ALRIGHT! As soon as get back to the castle, we're gonna form looking parties to find where they fell to! Now hurry up!"

To be Continued

You know the drill...or do you? Well I won't tell you cause it's a secret. After that disgustingly short (but plot important) chapter, I'll try to get the next one up soon. In the meantime...REVI-wait, I didn't say anything. Phew, secrets still safe.


	9. Hidden Power

:D Another new chapter? Already? Yes it is true my friends. Merci pour vos revues mes deux amis. In fact, I will thank you two with your very own paragraphs. :D

Lady HexaKnight: Rejoice, as this is by far the longest chapter yet. By the way. Meta Knight had sword-beamed Kaboola's sorry (ahem). Sorry for the misunderstanding. Dedede and Meta Knight won't be meeting for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Maybe not even in this fic, but I haven't decided yet.

Xanxi: Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about the pedestals when I wrote it. I just figured that if the Sparkling Stars had a resting place, it'd be the foundtain. I guess I just got lucky. YAY! XD Anyways, I should mention that I'm going to be playing through the game as I write so I can give accurate descriptions of the areas and stuff

Anyways, welcome to the beginning of Kirby's first adventure. The baddy that Kirby fights is technically original, if slightly uncreative. This is also my first descriptive fight scene, so I want to know how it went, cause there are gonna be a lot more. Anyways, Read on!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 8

Hidden Power

Kirby woke up after a fitful night of sleep. He stretched as he got out of bed. _I guess I better go find a new job…_Kirby walked toward his front door, ready to head into the city. He opened it to see a distraught and really tired Waddle Dee standing in front of him panting heavily. "Kirby…Dedede took…the Sparkling…Stars…" Waddle Dee managed to get out.

Kirby, worried that his friend didn't look so good, helped him inside. "Alright, Dee calm down. Drink some water…now tell me what happened."

Dee quickly drank down the water then cleared his throat, as he had been running around all night. "Dedede took the Sparkling Stars."

Kirby looked confusedly at Dee. "The Sparkling Stars? What are those?"

"They are the key to keeping your planet in balance." Dee hadn't said this though. Standing in the doorway was the masked man that Kirby had seen yesterday.

"You…" said Kirby.

Dee turned to the masked man. "Who are you? What do you know about the Sparkling Stars anyways?"

"I am known as Meta Knight. Your king has taken the Sparkling Stars from their resting place at the Fountain of Dreams. By doing so, he has interrupted the balance that has kept your planet stable. If they are not returned, your planet will eventually become uninhabitable. If your king holds the stars, he can obtain a great power. Fortunately…he only has one."

Waddle Dee looked confused. "One…but how? He take all of them."

"They met with…difficulties and lost three of them. They fell out of their ship and down to the land. I've located one of them. It is in Whispy's Woods, part of Green Greens." He then turned to Kirby. "You must go and retrieve it."

"Me? Why me?" asked Kirby.

"…Because if you don't, no one else will. Take this." He took out the star object and unwrapped it, revealing a yellow star. He handed it to Kirby. "This is the Warp Star. You'll need it." He then turned and walked away.

Kirby ran after him. "Wait! How do I use it?"

Meta Knight stopped, not turning around. "You'll know when you need to." He then walked away.

Dee walked out of the door after he had left. "So what do we do now?"

"…Dee, go back to the castle. If you can find anything about what Dedede is planning, let me know. I guess I've gotta go find the Sparkling Stars."

* * *

Meta-Droid had just finished its final download on Popstar culture, the last category that it had found any information on. As Meta-Droid readied to leave, a familiar voice came from behind it. "Meta-Droid…" Trila had finally recovered from her injury and was now back in relatively good condition. She wore purple armor, held a trident, had hover jets at the heels of her shoes, and had a yellow crescent-like object on the forehead area of her armor. "Where are we?" 

"We are located on an island in the middle of Orange Ocean on the planet Popstar," stated the robot.

"…Where's Meta?"

"Meta Knight is currently on the mainland. He has ordered that I bring him all information regarding every aspect of the planet."

"I heard Butch and Sword arguing about something…Butch said that he didn't understand why Meta Knight had let "him" go...then Sword told Butch that Meta Knight had said he'd deal with it…what were they talking about?"

"Yesterday, Butch had brought Meta Knight a prisoner. It appeared that this individual held some great significance. It was round shaped and pink. Does this individual have any significance?"

Trila stood there, realizing that she had missed a really important moment. "You were only created 13 years ago Meta-Droid. You probably wouldn't know. I'll go with you while you go see Meta and explain it to you on the way."

* * *

Waddle Dee had started walking toward the castle. How could he help Kirby? Even if he found out what Dedede was up to, how could he help Kirby? He sighed as Dedede's tank suddenly pulled up in front of them. Waddle Doo jumped out. "Hey, Waddle Dee, where did you go off to last night?" 

"Oh, well I…I guess I just panicked…Anyways, what about you two. Why are you guys here?"

"After we got the stars, something hit our ship and knocked most of them out. We found one near Whispy Woods…but the elves living in the forest had decided to keep it for themselves. We decided that we're going to take it by force. Get in the tank, Dee. We'll show those fools what happens when they mess with King Dedede."

* * *

Kirby walked along the open grassy area of Green Greens toward Whispy Woods, trying to figure out how to use the Warp Star. He had tried everything. He had pressed it on different areas, placed it down, even thrown it, but nothing was working. Kirby didn't even know why he had listened to Meta Knight. What if he was a bad guy? What if he was trying to set up Popstar for an invasion? Even so…he somehow knew that he was being truthful… 

Kirby was getting near the canyon that separated Whispy Woods from the rest of Green Greens. "…Now what?" Kirby had come to an impasse. How was he going to get to Whispy Woods with that big canyon in his way.

He saw Dedede's tank pull up a ways away. Dedede got out, trying to figure out how to get across the canyon as well. "Hey, Waddle Doo, Get out here!" Waddle Doo jumped out of the tank. Kirby then noticed Waddle Dee sitting in the tank. "So Waddle Doo, how we gonna get us over to that there other place over there?"

Waddle Doo stood there for a moment, trying to piece together everything he had said. "…uh…I don't know sire. Perhaps once we have Kaboola repaired, we could then launch our invasion."

"That ain't good enough. Now I wanna get over there right no-"

"Hey Dedede!" Dedede and Waddle Doo turned to see Kirby running toward them. "Put the Sparkling Stars back now!"

Dedede smirked. "Hey, Waddle Doo. Look at this pipsqueak. Heh heh. Who does this kid think he is?"

Waddle Doo looked over to Dee. "Hey, cuz, isn't that your friend? Heh. Looks like he wants to put a stop to our plans, Sire. Well kid, you really think you can stop us?"

Kirby didn't lose any ground. "I won't let you guys get away with this. I'll stop you any way I can!"

Dedede snickered. "Heh heh heh. Alright kid, you asked for a pummelin'. Hey General, since we can't invade Whispy Woods yet, why don't you work over this punk?" Another person got out of the tank. This one was a large Cappy. Cappies were mushroom-like people who inhabited Green Greens. This one wore a pair of shades and had a dark green cap without spots. "Kid, meet General Shroomer, ya still sure that you wanna opportunose us?"

Kirby just stood there. "…What? Dedede, if you're gonna talk, at least use real words. I don't care what you throw at me, I'll take it on!" Kirby was just bluffing of course, he didn't know how to fight. But, he had to anyways. "I can take you on!"

The General looked at Kirby, not losing his serious look. "You can think that, you little pansy worm; but I seriously doubt you can defeat my troupe." A bunch of Cappies walked over a hill in the distance. "You'd best be ready for an early retirement because we don't fight nice."

Kirby's eyes widened. "Oh boy…"

* * *

Meta Knight watched the impending battle. This would definitely be an interesting first test. The Warp Star would soon activate and he would be able to see if Kirby's powers had matured. "Sir Meta Knight. I have arrived with your information." Meta Knight turned to see Meta-Droid and Trila land near him. _What's Trila doing here _thought Meta Knight. 

Meta-Droid continued. "I have information regarding history, myth, locations, and several other aspects. Would you like the information now?"

"Not yet. Meta-Droid, I have a job that I will need you to do soon. Are your weapon systems functional?"

"Affirmative."

"Alright, here's what your going to do..."

* * *

Kirby was too busy dodging all the Cappies trying to tackle him to fight back. One of the Cappies finally got him, knocking him over and causing him to lose his grip on the warpstar. As he fell to the ground, he felt himself being picked up by Shroomer who threw him across the field. Kirby fell hard to the ground. He slowly got back up, just to be tackled by another Cappy. Shroomer then stood over him and punched him in the face again and again. Kirby began to feel dazed when the Warp Star, now bigger than even Kirby was, flew right at Kirby and swept him away. 

Shroomer sneered. "Kid, you can't get away from us in the air. I've got flyers too. Bronto Burts, bring him down!"

Kirby saw the pink bugs fly at him. "Great...wait a minute. I don't feel so bad now. Is it…the Warp Star?" Kirby suddenly had the strangest feeling that the Warp Star was telling him to suck up the enemy _What? That's crazy…might as well try though_. Kirby slowly inhaled and exhaled a few times. Then he breathed in as hard as he could. To his surprise, he began sucking in a huge amount of air. One of the Bronto Burts was sucked right into Kirby's mouth. He then spat it out at another one, causing it the two to collide and go down. Kirby continued to do this downing each one of them. He flew back toward the Cappies ready to take them out as well.

He got on the ground and tried to inhale one, only getting its mushroom cap. He spat it back out, knocking the Cappy over. Kirby then inhaled the Cappy and, after jumping back on the Warp Star, flew straight toward the General. He spat it out, but the General just caught it and threw it back at him knocking Kirby off the Warp Star and causing him to fall to the ground. The General stood over him and looked down. "Like I said, puny, you can't beat us that easily."

Just then, a green colored robot flew in and started shooting fire in several directions causing the Cappies to back away. It then turned to Kirby. "Swallow the fire." It then flew away.

_Swallow the fire? Is he crazy? But…I think I should listen to him_. Kirby began to swallow as much fire as he could. It was hot, but not so hot that he couldn't keep going. _Where did these powers come from?_ After Kirby swallowed the fire he felt completely different. A green hexagonal jewel formed above him. He jumped up to it. A metal, golden band formed around him and flames sprouted out of the top of his head. He had become Fire Kirby.

General Shroomer took a step back, not knowing what to make of what had happened. "What…How…how did you do that…It doesn't matter, I'll still take you down!" He ran toward Kirby, ready to take one more swing at him. Kirby jumped up and breathed fire at Shroomer, causing him to yell in pain and fall to his knees. Kirby continued to burn him for a few more seconds before stopping. Shroomer collapsed to the ground.

The other Cappies backed away in fear. Kirby then looked at Dedede and Waddle Doo. "Ready to give up Dedede?"

Dedede just stood there for a second then quickly jumped back into his tank with Waddle Doo and sped off toward the castle, yet again leaving behind Dee, who had jumped out when Kirby had started fighting the Cappies. "Not again."

Kirby couldn't hold back a laugh at his friend's predicament. He then looked to see Meta Knight walking toward him, along with the robot and another person. Kirby figured he might as well ask Meta Knight what was going on now.

To be Continued

Review plz! This was definitely a long chapter, so if it was to much, let me know. Thanks and have a great day!


	10. Planning

Blaarg! I may have to apologize for this chapter. I just am not satisfied with it. It's on the shorter side and there ain't much action in it. It seems like another transition chapter. Oh well...anyways, I hope for your reviews anyway. Anyway, my thank yous for the reviews

Lady HexaKnight: Sorry for not reading your story sooner. I've just been busy with stuff. But I did recently R&R it!

Xanxi: Thanks for your comment and peoples go to his forum! Because! You'd! be! Cool!

Heh heh. Anyways, enjoy...I hope.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 9

Planning

"Excellent work," stated Meta Knight as he approached Kirby. "I see that you have gained your powers very quickly. I am impressed."

"Wait! You knew that this would happen? How did I gain those powers?" asked Kirby adamantly, now expecting an explanation.

Meta Knight nodded. "The Warp Star activates the power hidden in certain individuals. It brings out your full potential."

"Well…how did you know that it would do that to me? What do you know about me? Just who are you guys?" Kirby had so many questions to ask Meta Knight.

"…We are a group of mercenaries known as the Meta Clan. As for your other two questions, when I saw you yesterday, you could say that I just had a feeling about you."

Kirby wasn't satisfied by that answer though. "You're sidestepping me. I know I've seen you somewhere before."

Meta Knight didn't seem to be fazed by that. "You must be mistaken. You are wasting time. You do know that, don't you? You must go to Whispy's Woods and retrieve the Sparkling Star. Take this." He handed him what looked like an earpiece. "Keep this. I'm going to have one of my men keep in touch with you."

Kirby took it, still unconvinced of Meta Knight's reasoning, but he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get a straighter answer from Meta Knight. "Fine…" He jumped on the Warp Star and zoomed off over the canyon separating the two areas.

Meta Knight looked over to Trila after Kirby had left. "Now to deal with you…"

"Sorry Meta. When Meta-Droid told me about Kirby…I just had to know. Sorry."

Meta Knight smirked. "Don't worry about it. Your tenacity is just what I needed. I'm going to be taking Meta-Droid with me, but I need you to perform some reconnaissance on Dreamland's Ruler. As you've probably figured from my conversation with Kirby, the Sparkling Stars were removed." He could see her shocked expression in her armor. "Don't worry, he didn't find all of them," he reassured her. "I need you to find out as much about the king's plans as possible." He then handed her a headset. "Use this to keep in communication with me and Kirby. The first channel will send your messages to Kirby, the second to me."

"Ok Meta," said Trila. "But, how am I going to be able to get the information I need? Even if I can spy on him, how am I going to get him to blurt out the information? I'm gonna need help."

Meta Knight nodded. "I've thought about that. I already have a contact in mind. You over there, please come here."

Waddle Dee looked around; then, realizing that Meta Knight was speaking to him, nervously walked over. "Y-y-yes?"

"You seemed panicked about the thievery of the Sparkling Stars, am I correct?"

Waddle Dee replied, "Um…well yeah, I guess so…"

Meta Knight continued. "Do you want to help your friend get them back?"

"Yeah, but what can I do?"

"I'm glad you asked. This is Trila. She will take you back to the castle. Once there, you will follow all her instructions. That way, we will be able to learn where the Sparkling Stars are and what your king is planning on."

Waddle Dee meekly nodded. "Well…ok."

"Very well. Trila, you know what to do. Good luck." Meta Knight saluted Trila and it was returned. Trila then picked up Waddle Dee and blasted off to Castle Dedede. Meta Knight then turned to Meta-Droid. "Alright Meta-Droid, you brought the information?"

"Affirmative," stated the droid. "All data on Popstar has been collected and filed. What piece of information would you like first?"

"…Give me information on anything related to the Star Warriors."

A screen flipped open on the front of Meta-Droid. "There is little information regarding that subject. Most is under ancient folklore, artifacts, and locations. Which would you like first?"

Meta Knight thought long and hard. "Give me…locations."

Several locations appeared on the screen. _Let's see…only a few…this shouldn't take long then…Fountain of Dreams…Rainbow Resort…Great Cave …Valley of Kabu…that's it._ "Give me information regarding the Valley of Kabu."

The information appeared. Meta Knight read it. "The Valley of Kabu has been said to be the location of totems known as Kabus which were used as havens for Star Warriors and refugees during the War of the Nightmare. Supposedly, the essence of good dreams possessed these totems. No Kabu has ever been located…that doesn't help me at all…Meta-Droid, cross reference Kabu with all information."

Meta Droid chirped after about thirty seconds. "There is one more piece of information on Kabu. 'Kabu were believed to move into caves once the war had ended.'"

"Alright. Meta-Droid, I'm going to need you to make a geological survey of the area. If you find any large caverns on the mainland or surrounding islands, let me know."

"Acknowledged." Meta-Droid hovered off leaving Meta Knight alone. With nothing left to do, he decided to head back to the Fountain of Dreams to finish the damage control he had started the night before.

* * *

The events that had just transpired did not go completely unnoticed however. On the other side of the canyon, at the outskirts of Whispy's Woods, a small elf was lying in some tall grass, a strong pair of binoculars giving him clear perception of the group of people standing on the other side. He wore blue colored clothes, almost looking as if he were ready to make toys for everyone. The forest had been on alert ever since Dedede had threatened them. It seemed that these individuals were enemies of the king. The pink one seemed powerful and the elf watching him sincerely hoped that he had no plans of heading in his direction. Unfortunately, the pink one jumped on his star and started flying towards him. The elf picked up his walkie-talkie to contact his superior. "Big Blue this is Little Blue, over?" 

The recipient responded. "This is Big Blue, go ahead."

"We've got possible hostile approaching from the north, about a mile off from us. Hostile will be over on our side within a minute. Your orders?"

After a moment of silence. "Keep an eye on the hostile but don't let it see you. We'll set a trap for it. Copy that?"

"Roger. 10-4. Over and out." The blue elf shut off his walkie-talkie and nestled lower into the grass, just as the pink one jumped off his star.

To be Continued

Well...? Whaddya think! I hope it wasn't to bad. More Kirby kicks enemy butt action next chapter! Promise:D


	11. Elves That Make You Go Pop

Le update! Voila! Hee...anyways welcome to another looooooong chapter. Thanks for your review again Xanxi. Yeah...I'm not trying to throw off you viewing audience with my story...or am I? Ahem...anwyays, I think you'll find the answer to your other question soon enough. On with the story!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 10

Elves That Make You Go Pop

Waddle Dee walked into Dedede's throne room to see them watching a large screen. Kirby was on the screen. Waddle Doo turned to him. "Dee! Where have you been? You know more about this kid than any of us. We need info."

Dee sighed. "Sorry, cuz. I'll make sure not to get left behind anymore…"

"Humph. Honestly, there's no good help these days. Sire, allow me to apologize for my cousins tardiness. I assure you that there will be consequences."

Dedede nodded, not paying attention. "Yeah, whatever. Hey you, Tweedle Dee-"

"Waddle…sir."

"I don't pay ya to counterdict me! Just tell me what I wanna know! Now, who is this kid anways?"

Dee sighed again. "…His name is Kirby, sire. You saw him at Kawasaki's when you decided to close his business…"

"Hey, that's right! He was the little twerp who attacked me! Waddle Doo, arrest Kawasaki and that Stoney guy!"

"Right away, Sire!" Waddle Dee ran out of the room with some of Dedede's guards.

Dee breathed heavily after Doo left. _Alright…I can do this. Don't be nervous…_"So…Sire. Just out of curiosity, um…what exactly are we, uh going to do with the Sparkling Stars?"

"Huh? Hey, I'm the ruler here! You don't go asking me questions about why I do what I do when I do it because I want to! Honestly, all you citizens and everybody else got no respect for me! That's all gonna change. Once we figure out the powers of the Sparkling Stars, people are gonna start payin' attention to me like they should! But that there Kirby's gonna be a problem. How long he had those powers anyways?"

"I've never seen them before, Sire. I don't know how he got those powers. Um…how are we watching Kirby, Sire?" asked Dee. If Dedede had been paying any attention to Dee, he would have noticed Dee glancing around nervously. Fortunately for Dee, he didn't.

"Heh heh heh. After those darn elves wouldn't hand over the Sparkling Star, we hid a little device to keep an eye on 'em. That cousin of yours designed it to look like a grasshopper. Heh heh heh, now we can spy on Kirby. He's got no clue so not only is he gathering the Sparkling Stars for us, but this way, we can find a way to beat 'im!" said Dedede confidently

"Of course, Sire. Would you like me to do anything for you now?" asked Dee, glad that his job was done for now.

"Yeah! Start fannin' me!" said Dedede. Before Dee picked up the palm frond, he looked up to the rafters at the top of the ceiling where Trila nodded toward Dee. She then silently hopped across them and exited the room through a window.

* * *

"That's right, Meta. It looks like King Dedede's taking of the Sparkling Stars was a simple power grab," finished Trila as she gave her report to Meta Knight. 

"Alright," came Meta Knight's voice. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Apparently, Dedede is using some sort of device to spy on Kirby. Should I tell him?"

There was a pause for a moment, then, "No…we'll let Dedede keep an eye on Kirby for now…is there any sign at all that Dedede or his servants know that you're there?"

"No. The security of this castle is somewhat lacking. However, even though this Dedede seems to be a complete idiot, some servants of his that I've seen are a lot smarter and much more dangerous. I'll keep an eye on them." She closed the line to Meta Knight and snuck back into the throne room to watch Kirby's progress along with Dedede.

* * *

Kirby looked around him for the fifth time. Ever since he'd entered Whispy's Wood, he had a feeling that he was being followed. Then again, it was probably because he was completely lost. Every single tree looked exactly the same. Kirby sat down beside a tree for a minute to rest. _Man, I have no idea where I'm going. Even if I wanted to leave…I still don't know my way out of the forest. I guess I could use the Warp Star…_

Kirby had kept the Warp Star in his mouth ever since he had landed. Another strange power he had developed was that he could keep objects in his mouth and regurgitate them later when he needed to use them. He spat out the Warp Star, jumped on it and flew up. As he looked around he saw Castle Dedede in the distance. Closer though in the other direction was a small clearing in the middle of the forest. _I could use that as a starting point, I guess. Wait, what's that?_ Kirby saw a strange cylindrical, grey object resting in the ground. He flew over to it.

He jumped off the Warp Star and walked near it. It was a strange device. It was a solid cylinder, a small green light softly beeped on top of it. Kirby got close to it and the light suddenly turned red and started to beep louder and faster. _What is this…wait a minute!_ Realizing what it was, he turned and began to run, but it was too late. The object exploded sending Kirby right into a tree and then to the ground. He slowly lifted his head, only to notice that he was now surrounded by a bunch of elves, each one wearing the same, should-be-at-the-North-Pole outfit, but in different colors. One in blue jumped down from the tree above him and approached him. He got out a walkie-talkie and began speaking into it. "Big Blue, this is Little Blue. We got him. Your orders?"

"Keep him there. Find out why he's here. I'll be there soon."

"Roger. Over and out." The blue elf put away the walkie-talkie then turned to the other elves. "Alright, I want you guys to form a perimeter around the area." The other elves left while the blue one sat down in front of Kirby. "Look, I want to get this over with quickly so it'll be best if you cooperate with me. First tell me this: do you work for Dedede?"

"No. I'm here to return the Sparkling Star to its resting place at the Fountain of Dreams."

The blue-clothed elf frowned. "I'm afraid that makes us enemies. Why do you want to take the star away?"

Kirby decided to try and reason with him. "If the Sparkling Stars aren't returned to the Fountain, Dreamland will eventually die."

The elf's eyes widened slightly. "What? That's not what my older brother told me...I'll talk to him about this…who are you anyways?"

"I'm Kirby, just a citizen of Dreamland."

"You're more than that. I saw you battle Dedede's men. I'm not afraid to admit that I really don't want to be your enemy. But that's up to my brother. We are the Poppy Elves. I'm Poppy Brothers Junior. My older brother, Poppy Brothers Senior, is the leader of our clan."

"Little bro, I told you to get information from him, not become his best friend." Kirby and Poppy Bros. Jr. turned to see whom Kirby could only assume was "Big Blue". "Hmm…so this is the great warrior who defeated Dedede's army eh? You certainly are really small. Little bro, are you sure this little guy is the one you saw?"

Poppy Bros. Jr. nodded. "Yeah bro. He says that if we don't put the Sparkling Star back in its place, Dreamland will be destroyed. I think that maybe we should at least consider it."

The bigger Poppy turned to his brother. "Hmm? Listen to this guy? Please, little bro. What does this guy know? Besides, you know its not my decision on what happens to the Sparkling Star. Remember, I don't rule the forest."

"Then who does?" said Kirby adamantly.

Poppy Bros. Sr. turned to Kirby. "I'm afraid I won't be telling you that. If you're smart, you'll leave while you still have the chance. If not…well I'm afraid I'll have to get rough with you."

"I'm not leaving without the Sparkling Star," Kirby stated.

A big, almost insane, grin formed on Poppy Bros. Sr.'s face. "Then…I guess we're going to be having a little fun aren't we! Hee hee hee. Little Bro, tell the rest of the Poppy elves to make sure I'm getting a steady line of explosives."

Poppy Bros. Jr. looked sadly down to the ground. "Alright bro. Sorry, Kirby." He then jumped into the brush area in the more covered area of the forest.

Kirby turned to watch where he went and when he turned around. Poppy Bros. Sr. was gone. Kirby looked around to see where he had gone, but couldn't find him. Kirby found out soon enough though, when Poppy Bros. Sr. jumped out of the tree from above and landed right on Kirby. "Gah!"

Poppy Bros. Sr. jumped off him and hopped to the middle of the field. "Hee hee hee. I'm afraid that you're out of the kiddy pool now. We're in the big leagues. Alright, my faithful brothers, lets show Kirby the "Pop" in Poppy!" A black bomb was thrown to Poppy Bros. Sr. who in turn threw it at Kirby. Kirby barely got out of the way as it landed and exploded. Kirby turned back to Poppy Bros. Sr. and began to inhale. Poppy Bros. Sr. struggled against Kirby's suction powers. "Hrrgh…well, you…are tougher than…I thought. But you forgot about the rest of us. Hee hee hee!" a bomb landed right behind Kirby, exploding and sending Kirby right at Poppy Bros. Sr. He jumped up and kicked Kirby into a tree. "Hee! Hee hee hee! Ready to give up?"

Kirby slowly got up. "…not yet…"

Poppy Bros. Sr. continued to smile. "…Very well." He jumped up really high then. Kirby ran to the center of the field to see where Poppy Bros. Sr. had gone. The sun was high though and Kirby couldn't see anything when he looked up. Another bomb came flying at him, exploding right next to him and sending him flying again. When he landed he weakly got up to see Poppy Bros. Sr. land casually on the ground. Kirby still got up. "…Still fighting? Hee hee hee. Fine! Send me a continuous stream of bombs! This has been fun, but I'm afraid that our play date ends here! Hee hee hee!" Several bombs were sent toward Poppy Bros. Sr. He caught each elegantly and sent them at Kirby, who could barely keep ahead the constant explosions.

Kirby ran to a tree and bounced off it, landing right in front of Poppy Bros. Sr. He was about to throw another bomb at Kirby but he began to inhale causing Poppy Bros. Sr. to trip. Kirby inhaled the other bombs. Kirby began to feel funny again. He turned a red color and began to expand. Then there was an explosion and Kirby was now wearing a blue hat very similar to the Poppy elves hats. He had become Bomb Kirby.

Poppy Bros. Sr. stood up and saw Kirby. His smile was quickly replaced by a confused, almost annoyed frown. "Hee hee-huh? When did you get that? It doesn't matter. Send me more bombs!" Another bomb was thrown to Poppy Bros. Sr., who caught it and threw it at Kirby. However it exploded in midair. When the smoke cleared, Poppy Bros. Sr. saw that Kirby was now holding a bomb. "…Huh! Wait-but-Hey how did you do that?" Kirby threw the bomb at Poppy Bros. Sr. and he got out of the way just in time tripping and falling down again.

Poppy Bros. Jr. jumped on one of the branches. "I told you bro, he's got a lot of strange powers!"

Poppy Bros. Sr. then turned to see Kirby holding the biggest bomb he had ever seen. Kirby threw the bomb right at him. Poppy Bros. Sr.'s face went to a sad look. "Uh…oh…" The bomb hit him and blew up sending him, quite literally, flying. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Kirby let out a sigh of relief as the bomb hat on him dissolved. Poppy Bros. Jr. jumped down from the tree branch. "…I guess you win. By the way, this is yours." He tossed the Warp Star to Kirby who caught it in his mouth.

Kirby then asked Poppy Bros. Jr., "So…can I have the Sparkling Star?"

Poppy Bros. Jr. frowned. "Ah…I'm afraid I can't give you that…but I can ask the forest leader. I'll bring you to him, ok?"

Kirby nodded. "Ok…thank you…"

Poppy Bros. Jr. nodded. "Alright let's go."

To be Continued

Review s'il vous plait! Au revoir!


	12. Fight Against Nature

Hi ya'll. Been a few days, so I made an extra long chapter for you guys! Hey Xanxi, if I haven't said so before, thanks for reviewing my fic and giving it so much publicity! And you will be seeing more anime references throughout the story. To everyone else...(gets on knees) PLEASE REVIEW MY FIC (SOB BEG WHINE ETC.). Thanks!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 11

Fight Against Nature

"So where exactly are we going, Poppy Brothers Junior?" asked Kirby as he and Poppy Bros. Jr. walked through a thicker area of the forest.

"Just call me Poppy Junior. It's less of a mouthful that way. We're heading to my house before we meet with the forest leader. You look pretty tired anyways, and I've got something that'll help with your injuries. Ah, here we are." Kirby stood in front of a hollowed-out tree. In front of the tree was what appeared to be a small garden. Poppy Jr. pulled out a rather large tomato with a capital M on the front. "Here. This'll give you a nice pick up."

Poppy Jr. tossed the tomato to Kirby, who was surprised to see it. "Is this a maxim tomato? I've only seen a few of these before! Do you grow these here?"

"Yep, the soil in Whispy's Wood is extremely healthy. There are only a few places that can grow these. I got plenty, so don't worry about it."

Kirby ate the tomato. _Woah! These things are great! I feel just fine now!_ "Wow! Thanks! So are we ready to go?"

"I guess so. Come on. Our leader isn't far from here," said Poppy as he walked away from the tree.

"Tell me, will this leader of yours be willing to listen to me?" asked Kirby.

"…I honestly don't know. He acted as if the star was really important. He said that it would lead our forest into a golden age of prosperity. But, I'm sure he doesn't want our planet to die either. I'm sure that he'll be reasonable. Well we're here." Poppy Jr. and Kirby stood in front of a tree, which looked like every other tree in the forest.

"It's a tree," Kirby stated.

"Well, yes he is," responded Poppy Jr.

"Okay…so…now what?"

"Just wait a second. Lord Whispy. I would request an audience with you."

"Poppy Brothers Junior, I have heard that the woods have a pink invader and now I see that you bring him here. What is the meaning of this?" A face began to form on the tree. A sharp nose stuck out and three black holes formed a mouth and pair of eyes on the tree.

"So, this is the Whispy of Whispy's Wood?" asked Kirby. The tree looked at him with contempt.

"You…will call me by my complete name. I am Whispy Woods, lord and protector of this forest. You have come to my realm to steal the Star of Earth have you not?" Said Whispy.

"If that's the Sparkling Star that's here, then yes. I intend to return it to it's rightful place at the Fountain of Dreams. If I don't, our entire planet will be destroyed. That means your forest will be as well!"

"Do not think me such a simpleton! Your insolence and arrogance is disgusting! Even if the star is not returned, the effects of it missing will not be significant for many years. I will use this star to turn my forest into a paradise. Once finished, the star will be returned. Now leave and never traverse back into my wood!"

"…But if you keep it here, won't the land of other places suffer?" Kirby wasn't ready to give up yet.

"They will recover with time. Now leave!" said Whispy, angered that this creature would defy him.

Kirby walked closer to Whispy. "That's not good enough! Why should your forest prosper at the expense of everyone else? I won't have it!"

Poppy Jr. began to speak. "Uh, Kirby, you shouldn't stand so close to-"

"Silence fool!" exclaimed Whispy. After this, roots began to shoot out of the ground, surrounding Kirby and trapping him. "As for you…if you will not leave my forest willingly, I will send you away myself." Whispy's branches began to expand spreading across the immediate area and completely covering the sky.

Kirby gave Whispy a defiant look. "Don't underestimate me Whispy! I'm not as weak as I might seem!"

"Yes…I've been told about your...powers. You are indeed dangerous. So I will defeat you swiftly. Now…feel the wrath of the forest!" Whispy began to shake his branches causing a large amount of apples to fall. Kirby began to inhale them, but there were too many. The apples hit his head hard as they fell but that didn't deter him. Kirby continued to inhale, but he couldn't keep up with the apples that were falling. He began to get buried under them. The apples began to cover up the entire area. Kirby was now completely buried as the last few apples dropped. Whispy looked toward Poppy Jr. "You should have never brought him here. He knows where I am now! How do you suggest I resolve this?"

Poppy Jr. looked down. "…I don't know, Lord Whispy…"

"Well I do. I wish this weren't necessary but…" Two roots came out of the ground and smashed into the pile of apples, sending many of them into the air and revealing a dazed Kirby, One the roots wrapped around Kirby, lifted him into the air, and began to squeeze him. Kirby groaned in pain as he was twisted by the root.

"Wait, Lord Whispy. Surely there is a better way than this! Please! We don't need to kill him. I'm sure that he won't tell anyone where you are! We don't need to do this!"

"Silence, Poppy Brothers Junior! You have done enough damage to this forest already! I gave your people a home because they had none. I let your people hollow out trees so that they would not be out in the cold. Do not defy me!"

"I…" Poppy Jr. stood there for a moment. "But…this isn't right. We shouldn't just let the rest of the planet suffer while we benefit from the stars power. We should let Kirby return it so everyone can share the benefits…"

"You would defy me, you insolent dog?" exclaimed Whispy.

"…I'm sorry Lord Whispy…" Poppy Jr. quickly pulled out a bomb, lit it and threw it at the base of the root that held Kirby. The explosion cut the root from Whispy causing him to cry out in pain.

"Gah! You! You will not live through this!" Several roots shot out of the ground and began to thrust in his direction. Poppy Jr. closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly, several apples hit Whispy's trunk. Whispy looked to see Kirby swaying groggily. "You just won't give up will you? Very well, I'll get rid of both of you!" More roots came out of the ground. Thinking fast Kirby swallowed the root that had been blown off by Poppy Jr. Kirby jumped up. A red capped formed on him as his skin turned yellow. Several spikes formed on the cap and began to expand and shrink rapidly. He had become Needle Kirby.

Whispy seethed with anger. "So, you do have mimicking powers! You will still be destroyed!" About a dozen of Whispy's roots began to thrust at Kirby. Kirby crouched and the spikes on him expanded, slicing each root before they could hit Kirby. "Graah! I…will…not be beaten!" Kirby retracted the spikes. He then jumped up and shot out the spikes. They all began to head toward Whispy at high speeds. Whispy blocked as many as he could by catching them with his roots but eventually one connected with his trunk. Whispy lost concentration and his roots began to shake violently as more spikes slammed into his trunk. Eventually the roots fell to the ground. Kirby landed back on the ground as the cap dematerialized.

Whispy weakly looked at Kirby. "…I didn't expect such…power…very well." Another root came out of the ground. This one was wrapped around a brown star. "You may have the Star of Earth." Kirby picked up the star and backed away.

Poppy Jr. looked on to what Kirby had done and was shocked. _What have I done…I've betrayed the forest, my own people…and for what? Because I thought I was right? I can't turn back now though. I made a choice and I'll accept the consequences._ He then looked at Whispy and saw an undying hatred.

"As for you…you have betrayed me and the forest. Therefore, I hereby banish you, Poppy Brothers Junior from my realm. Get out!" Finished, Whispy retracted his roots and his face disappeared.

Poppy Jr. walked up to Kirby. "…I guess I'll show you the way out. It appears we're both heading that way anyways…"

"Poppy Junior…I'm sorry," Kirby said sympathetically

"Don't be. I made a choice and must now face the consequences of that choice. And I think I've made another decision. Kirby, are there other stars like this one?"

Kirby nodded "Yeah."

"Then…I'll go with you and help you collect the rest. I have nowhere else to go…so can I come?"

Kirby smiled and nodded. "Sure. I can use all the help I can get! Let's go!"

They walked away from Whispy as his face reformed. Meta Knight revealed himself from behind one of the trees. "Thank you, Lord Whispy. I must apologize for your injuries."

"My injuries will heal quickly, but Kirby was much more powerful than you lead me to believe. But either way, the Star of Earth will be returned to its rightful place." Whispy said with a weak smile.

"Kirby has grown in power much faster than I thought. May I ask why you banished the one with him though?"

"Poppy Brothers Junior? He has always been unsatisfied with his life in this forest. His journey with Kirby will be refreshing to him. I'll let him come back when Kirby is finished with his quest."

Meta Knight nodded. "Very well. I take my leave of you now." Meta Knight turned and walked away from Whispy as his face disappeared one more time.

* * *

Kirby breathed deeply as he and Poppy Jr. came out of the forest. "Aaaaaaahhh…feels great to see the sky clearly again." 

"Yeah, I guess…" said Poppy Jr. "So now where do we go?"

Kirby realized that he had no clue about where he was going. "Um…I don't know…"

* * *

King Dedede sat enraged at the scene that had just taken place. He slammed his fist against the throne several times. "Just who is this Kirby guy! We gotta do somethin' about him! Wait…hey Waddle Dee, go and get that there cousin of yours. I gotta plan!" 

"Yes sire." Waddle Dee ran out of the room. King Dedede sat at the throne room thinking for a moment. _I gotta do somethin' about this here Kirby. I gotta find a way to beat 'im. Hmm..._

As Dedede sat thinking, a person in gold armor, wearing red gloves, entered the room. He approached Dedede slowly and kneeled. "Sire, I have information regarding the location of another Sparkling Star."

Dedede smiled. "Good job, Sir Kibble! Go get it!"

Sir Kibble remained kneeling. "Sire, the people who have it would not want to give it up. They said they would contact you once I returned." A small beeping sound went off on Dedede's throne. He pressed a button and a screen came out of a wall panel. On the screen appeared two people. They were small and circular shape. One was blue and the other was pink and wore a yellow bow.

"Greetings Sire," said the blue one. "I'm sure I need no introduction."

"Wait a minute. You two are the famous movie stars, Lololo and Lalala!'

"That's right!" said Lalala, the pink one. "And we have a deal for you!"

"Yeah, what is it?" said Dedede, mad that they were in control of the situation.

Lololo smirked and held up an orange star. "We've heard that you need this Sparkling Star. So…if you fully fund our next movie, which we have so appropriately named "The Adventures of Lolo 4", we'll gladly give you the Sparkling Star."

Dedede's eyes lit up. "Heh heh heh. Actually I got a betta idea…"

To be Continued

I just couldn't make Whispy a really bad bad guy in the end...oh well. So you may commence reviews. (Waits) ...I said commence reviews! (Waits some more) ...HELLO...Anybody there? ...sniff...


	13. Flying MonkNever Mind

HEY PEOPLES!!! I'm still alive!! And I got a lot of reviews.

Xanxi: I'm gonna make at least one more reference to Adventures of Lolo before this stories done!

bg willyDthtrp: I'm glad you appreciate my work! And I'll bet you will be able to become a great writer with some practice!

Lady HexaKnight: Wow! You reviewed all the other chapters (aside from the early ones)! Alright, I know it's been a long time coming, but I'm gonna hold you to your promise to review first! JK! Thanks for the reviews though

Shining Riku: Thanks for reviewing my story. And I'll try to be better about reviewing yours. I just haven't had a lot of time to come on here...

Thank you guys!

Been a couple weeks since my last update, but I'm getting some time off from school so maybe I will be able to write a couple of chapters over the weekend.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 12

Flying Monk-Never Mind

"This is absolutely outrageous!" Rocky was giving Waddle Doo a hard time about his recent arrest. They were standing in the town square of Dream City. He may have been tied up by the feet, but he was still struggling against the guards that were pulling him.

"His highness has ordered that you and Kawasaki are to be put in prison as suspects in the conspiracy by Kirby to take over Dreamland. Not to mention your assassination attempt on the king yesterday!"

"Assassination? That's absurd. This is a complete infringement on civil liberties and justice!"

"King Dedede's the dictator here! He gets to decide who gets justice and liberties! Now stop struggling and cooperate and you might not get the death penalty. Maybe just life in prison." The soldiers continued to pull him, but Rocky's struggling, along with his weight and bulk, eventually tired the soldiers. They stopped dragging him and sat down. Waddle Doo was not pleased by this. "Hey, don't stop pulling! He's a traitor to his people and his king!"

"We are rather tired, sir…" said one of the guards.

"Lazy bums…Hey you, kid!" He pointed over to a strong looking kid with spikey blond hair. "Pull this guy to the castle or I'll arrest you too!"

The kid slowly turned to Waddle Doo. "The name's…Knuckle Joe. Not "kid"!"

Waddle Doo growled as his eye narrowed. "Don't talk back to me! Now help us or I'll-"

"Hey, Cuz!" Both Waddle Doo and Knuckle Joe turned to see Waddle Dee running toward them. "Dedede wants you to go back to the castle so you guys can put together a plan to beat Kirby."

Knuckle Joe turned to Dee confused. "Kirby? What do you mean, defeat Kirby?"

Waddle Doo turned to Knuckle Joe. "Kirby is an enemy of the state. He is considered extremely dangerous. If you see him, contact Castle Dedede immediately so that we can arrest him!"

Joe looked more confused. "What? Kirby, dangerous? That's ridiculous! I've known him for years and he's not tough at all! Hey, Waddle Dee, aren't you his friend? How is he dangerous? Why does Dedede care about him anyways?"

Waddle Dee decided to answer. "Well, I guess he only got his powers recently. I never saw them before today. As for Dedede, he stole the Sparkling Stars and the planets gonna die if their not put back so Kirby is-"

"Waddle Dee! Be quiet! You are going to receive some severe punishment for that! Now, Knuckle Joe, are you gonna help us, or should I have my guards put you in chains now?"

Knuckle Joe frowned angrily. "How about neither…I'll just take you out, then King Dedede! Smash Punch!" Knuckle Joe threw a punch in Waddle Doo's direction. A sort of energy beam came out of his fist and hit Waddle Doo, knocking him off his feet.

"Oof! Retreat! You have made a grave mistake!" Waddle Doo and the guards ran away back to the castle. Waddle Dee stood there for a few seconds, sighed, than slowly started walking back to the castle as well.

"Tcch, that'll teach them to mess with Knuckle Joe!" Knuckle Joe smirked.

"Oh, give it a rest and untie me already!" said Rocky, still unable to move his feet.

"Oh, yeah right." After untying Rocky, Joe decided to take action. "Well, we know that Dedede is going to destroy Dreamland if he isn't stopped. I say we go and defeat him!"

Rocky sighed. "You are going to find any excuse you can to get into trouble aren't you! Well, that is, of course, you're prerogative, but don't come crying to me when you're in front of a firing squad because of your treasonous actions." Rocky began to walk away.

"Wait! So you're not gonna help me?"

Rocky let out a more impatient sigh. "That's exactly right, Knuckle Joe. I value my freedom! I'm leaving Dream City so I can move to a smaller, quieter town. I thank you for your help earlier, but I will now bid you adieu."

"Would you rather that injustice continues if it meant that you would be comfortable?" Rocky and Knuckle Joe turned to see Meta Knight standing before them.

"Hey, who're you?" Asked Knuckle Joe.

"You may call me Meta Knight. Your king's actions will no doubt lead to the destruction of your planet. So tell me, are you willing to stand by while your king freely does what he wills with no regard to the consequences?"

"Of course not!" Said Knuckle Joe. "See, Rocky! We gotta put a stop to Dedede now!"

Meta Knight then turned to Knuckle Joe. "You're brave and powerful, but brash and untrained as well. Do you know of Lololo and Lalala? They have one of the Sparkling Stars in the castle where they are filming their next movie. Kirby is heading there as well. If you desire to help, go there"

Knuckle Joe nodded. "Yeah! Let's go Rocky!" Knuckle Joe took off.

Rocky gave an annoyed look to Meta Knight. "Do you have any idea how excitable that kid is? Or better yet, how far away that castle is? …Fine, I'll go...but only because I'm heading that way myself." Rocky ran after Knuckle Joe.

Meta Knight's eyes glowed a green color. _Knuckle Joe…I wonder…_

* * *

It was nighttime now. Kirby and Poppy Jr. sat by a small fire. Trila had contacted them a few hours ago and let them know where the second star was. But, that castle was still a couple miles away. The two decided to get some rest so that they'd be at full strength the next day. Trila had warned them that the two movie stars where going to be planning for their arrival. They were now working on a strategy for the impending confrontation. 

Poppy Jr. was worried about something else though. He had heard stories about the castle. Apparently, the place was haunted by ghosts. He had expressed this to Kirby, but he didn't seem worried. "Those are silly rumors. We have to concentrate on what Lololo and Lalala are going to do. I mean, their action stars and all, but they're smaller than even me."

"I think they can fly," commented Poppy Jr.

"Maybe. But so can I, with the Warp Star at least. I think that we don't have too much to worry about. Let's get some sleep…" Kirby lied down on the grass and was out quickly.

Poppy Jr. sat for a few more minutes. He still felt rather uneasy.

* * *

Lololo stood atop the castle along with another individual. Her body was completely yellow and her face was concealed by a large, pointy black hat. This witch was known as Broom Hatter. She owned the castle that Lololo and Lalala had leased for their movie. Lololo turned to her. "So Broom Hatter, Kirby will be coming here. You say that the spirits of this castle will be able to defeat him?" 

"Kee kee kee…that is correct. My ghastly minions will decimate Kirby after they scare the wits out of him."

Lololo smirked. "Capture him now. If you do, we'll double the amount we are paying you."

Broom Hatter waved her broom around. A white circular ghost with a tail. appeared "Capture the pink one and bring him to me. Do what you want with the other but I want him alive! Now fly! FLY!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Several more identical ghosts appeared and flew away from the castle, toward the unsuspecting snoozers.

To be Continued

CaN yOu FiNd ThE sUbTlE mOvIe ReFeReNcE???? Okay, not really subtle...anyways, review s'il vous plait!


	14. Ghastly Night

I'm back! And I've got more reviews again!

Xanxi: I just couldn't resist it. I had written the rest of it down, but I didn't know what Broom Hatter should've said. It just kinda fit.:P

Lady HexaKnight: I'm sorry to say that certain subplots of my saga may take several fics to solve. OO But don't worry, I won't competely leave you guys with nothing.

Shining Riku: Dedede will get his soon enough...or WILL HE? yah proly

Aduross: Welcome aboard. I'm glad that you're enjoying it and I appreciate the complement! Thanks!

With that, I suppose that it is time to move on to the fic...so here's Chapter 13!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 13

Ghastly Night

Poppy Jr. was lying down now, but unable to sleep. _Jeez…this place is really creeping me out…WHOA!!! Oh jeez…it's just a cloud…man I need to cool off…wait…THAT'S NOT A CLOUD!!!_ "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kirby snapped awake to the sight of several ghosts materializing in front of him. He and Poppy Jr. were completely surrounded by them. "I guess you were right about the ghosts, Poppy..." Kirby said, unable to hide the fact that he was really freaked out.

This didn't comfort Poppy Jr., however. "Well, what do we do now? We're going to be like them if we don't do anything!"

"Well…uh, WOAH!" One of the ghosts swooped in. Kirby barely jumped out of the way. "I guess we're gonna have to fight!"

"But how are we supposed to fight them? They're ghosts! Ya know, spirits from the beyond! How do we beat them?"

After a few seconds, Kirby had an answer. "The conventional way!" Kirby began to inhale. However, most of the ghosts flew out of the way. Kirby only swallowed a few of them. "…Well, that really didn't help…uh…I think it's about time we ran." Kirby zoomed off, Poppy Jr. quickly following him. The ghosts quickly gave chase.

Kirby turned around after a few minutes. "Poppy, it looks like we've got no way out of this; and I can't inhale all of them! Can you bomb 'em?"

Poppy Jr. nervously nodded. "Y-yeah..." Poppy Jr. pulled out a set of small bombs. "I'm on it." Poppy Jr. jumped high in the air and threw a barrage of the miniature bombs. A few hit the ghosts, causing them to disappear. "Jeez, that didn't work very well! Hey, the castle is over there!" Indeed, the dark, dank castle loomed about 100 yards away.

Kirby nodded. "Alright, let's make a break for it!" The two ran as fast as they could toward the castle. It could be described as a fixer-upper. The castle was dark-blue in the night sky, covered in layers of moss. A moat surrounded it with a lowered drawbridge. The drawbridges chains were severely rusted. There were three figures standing on the drawbridge. Two of them were the movie stars, Lololo and Lalala. The other was the witch, Broom Hatter.

Lalala smirked from the distance. "Looks like they've got their hands full. Good work Broom Hatter. Now, we need to get the Sparkling Star that they have. Can your minions handle this."

Broom Hatter nodded and laughed wickedly. "Kee kee kee…yes. But my Boolers will not be enough." She summoned a different kind of ghost. This one was also white, but it was just a big sphere with bugged out eyes and a tongue that stuck out. Several more also appeared "Now, Hurlys…smash them!"

The spherical creatures gave off a series of demented laughs then bounced off toward Kirby and Poppy Jr.

Kirby saw the ghost bouncing toward them. "Oh man! Heads up Poppy, we got more trouble." The ghosts came up fast. Kirby braced himself for the hit.

"Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!" Several ghosts were hit by energy blasts and disintegrated while the rest scattered. Knuckle Joe jumped in front of Kirby and Poppy Jr. "Hey Kirby, what's up!"

"Joe! What are you doing here?"

Knuckle Joe turned around and pointed toward his nose. "Meta Knight told me you needed some help! From what I heard, you've been causing Dedede some trouble!"

"I guess you could say that…hey watch out Joe!" One of the Hurleys was about to bounce on to Joe when Rocky crushed it by slamming himself on top of it.

"Oh bother. I was afraid something like this would happen…well Kirby. It seems that you have managed to get yourself into a load of trouble yet again." Rocky stated dissaproovingly.

Kirby smiled. "You know me Rocky, I can't help it."

Rocky sighed. "…I'm not surprised at all…so shall we retrieve this Sparkling Star?"

Kirby nodded. "Yeah. By the way, this is Poppy Jr. He helped me get the other Sparkling Star."

Joe smirked. "Nice to meet ya!"

Rocky maintained his serious look. "Well, if the pleasantries are finished…shall we?" He then walked off toward the castle.

Poppy Jr. gave Kirby a quizzical look. "He's a rather stiff guy, huh?"

Kirby nodded. "He means well…let's go."

They walked toward the drawbridge. Broom Hatter stood mockingly before them. "Kee kee kee…Welcome to my humble abode. I am the magnificent Broom Hatter. And you are trespassing on private property. You will be punished!" She summoned several more Boolers and Hurlys along with a new creature. This one was a similar sphere shape, but it was wrapped in cloth and had a red eye. "Kee kee kee…Mumbies…lead my ghost army to victory! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" A poof of smoke surrounded her as she disappeared.

Kirby and his friends were quickly closed in by the ghosts. The Mumbies eye glowed softly as it slowly floated toward him. Rocky irritatingly looked toward Kirby. "So, Kirby. What do we do now?"

Knuckle Joe answered for him. "We fight!"

* * *

Dedede laughed as he watched the screen. "Kirby's finished! So Sir Kibble. You found the last star yet?" 

The knight kneeled before the king. "I'm afraid that we have had no luck in finding it, Your Majesty. Our searches are somewhat limited as Kaboola has been temporarily grounded."

"When's that flyin' contrapation thingy gonna be fixed anyways?"

Sir Kibble continued to kneel. "We've had rotating crews since you returned, Your Majesty. However, at best, it won't be ready until tomorrow. Forgive our lack of speed, Sire. I will make sure that the crews work harder." He then saluted and walked out of the throne room.

Dedede nodded the sighed. "Yeah whatever." Waddle Doo walked into the court room. "Where you been Waddle Doo? I just got me a great plan. We're gonna use our TV station to turn everyone against Kirby!"

Waddle Doo seemed to smile, regardless of the fact that he had no visible mouth. "That is genius, Sire! We shall begin first thing in the morning."

Dedede gave an evil smile. "Heh heh heh. So how's the Sparkling Star research going?"

"I'm afraid, Sire, that we have made little progress...what with our head scientist vacatioining-"

"He's WHAT? Get him back here, RIGHT NOW!" Dedede said, infuriated.

"Yes Sire…the doctor won't be happy, though…" Waddle Doo walked out of the room.

To be Continued

Well, what do you think? Let me know with your reviews, please. Thanks


	15. It's Been a Long Night

BLAAARRG!!! I am indeed alive, my readers! School has been hectic...and other stuff too...anyways now that I have some free time, perhaps I'll get some more written over my break! But first, my thanks to my reviewers...thank you reviewers...

Xanxi: Ya know, I was recently playing KSS, and I think that the place you fight Lololo and Lalala is indeed their castle...but that place was too happy looking for my fanfiction needs! By the way thanks for reviewing so much, and thanks for making a great Kirby fic yourself!

Aduross: Dedede's intelligence is his own...I really don't think to hard when writing dialogue for him...I guess that makes sense. Anyways, since I'm writing an entire saga, I can garuntee that virtually all Kirby characters will show up eventually, one way or another. It's just a matter of when and how!

Shining Riku: Dedede's greed and dumbness is what makes him so awesome...maybe! And look at you, automatically assuming the good guys are gonna win...like that ever happens...(cough)...

Anyways, this chapter was pretty difficult to write. It kinda jumps all over the place, so I hope it isn't too difficult to follow...well, anyways...Enjoy:)

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 14

It's Been a Long Night

The ghosts laughed eerily as they circled the four adventurers. Knuckle Joe was the first to launch himself into the action. "Spin Kick!" He jumped up into the air, roundhouse kicked, and a wide energy beam slammed into several of the ghosts causing them to disintegrate. After landing on the ground he jumped up and tackled another ghost to the ground.

Kirby looked at the other two. "I'll take out the leader. You guys back me up!" Kirby spat out the Warp Star, jumped on it and flew high into the night sky, being followed by Mumbies. "Alright, ghost dude, try this!" Kirby began to inhale. Mumbies stopped moving at that point. It stayed still, not being effected at all by Kirby's vacuum power. Mumbies red eye glowed and fired a red energy beam at Kirby, knocking him off the Warp Star. The Warp Star gave chase and caught Kirby. Kirby was shot off again by another energy blast.

Poppy Jr. jumped up grabbed one of the Hurleys and threw it too Rocky who hopped and crushed it. He then looked up seeing Kirby falling toward the ground. "Poppy! Look!" He turned then jumped up and caught Kirby, tossing him back up to the Warp Star.

"You sure your okay Kirby?" Kirby nodded then barely dodged another energy blast.

Rocky sighed. "Poppy…how exactly is Kirby going to defeat this ghost?"

"Oh…you don't know? Kirby can absorb powers by swallowing different things…wait…I got it! Rocky, get as many ghosts as you can to follow you."

Rocky nodded. "Alright…but this better work because I doubt I'll be able to handle all of them…" Rocky and Poppy Jr. split off. The ghosts split into two groups.

Knuckle Joe grabbed another ghost and tossed it over his head. He then look and saw Broom Hatter on the top of one of the castle towers, summoning more ghosts. His eyes narrowed and he ran off toward the castle.

Rocky quickly realized that he was running downhill. He was now having trouble slowing down. He was at the same time, though, having a large amount of trouble keeping ahead of the ghosts. _Well…now what…hmm…ah got ya!_ Rocky slammed against a tree, and launched himself through the ghosts. As some circled around, the tree fell and crushed them. Rocky then jumped up and slammed down on a few others. "Alright…Poppy Jr., your plan better work…"

* * *

Broom Hatter cackled as she summoned another pair of Hurleys. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Crush the fools!" The Hurleys gave off their disturbing laugh and began to bounce away. 

"Smash Punch!" The two Hurleys were engulfed by another energy blast. Knuckle Joe jumped onto the roof and coldly stared at Broom Hatter. He readied another punch. She cackled and melted through the roof. Knuckle Joe scowled. "You're not getting away from me!" Knuckle Joe jumped high up and then came down, fist-first. "MEGATON PUNCH!!!" Joe crashed through the tower roof at such a high velocity, that the tower began to shake. Joe continued to punch through the floors causing the tower to shake more. Eventually, the tower began to collapse. Joe quickly jumped away as the stone ceiling crashed to the ground. Joe smirked. "Well, we got a way into the castle…"

"Yes, but you will not escape ALIVE!" Joe turned to see Broom Hatter on the other side of the room. "Kee kee kee…you have destroyed part of my castle…and you have angered my Two Faces…so you'll have to answer to them…kee kee kee…" Joe quickly turned to see about half a dozen calm looking mask-like creatures floating behind him. They each then spun around revealing more sinister faces with glowing red eyes. "Deal with them and maybe you'll get to deal with me…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Broom Hatter melted through the wall.

* * *

Poppy Jr. kept ahead of the Hurleys, but there were still too many. "Gotta single one out…" Poppy Jr. pulled out a small bomb, set it off, and dropped it on the ground. He stopped running as the Hurleys surrounded him. He kept his eye on one. Cold sweat dropped from his face. "Gotta time this just right…" He crouched then launched himself into the air, grabbing one of the Hurleys. Seconds later, the bomb went off, taking out the other ghosts. Poppy soon jumped past Kirby, who was still struggling with his fight against Mumbies. "Kirby! Swallow this!" Poppy dropped the Hurley toward Kirby as he fell back to the ground. 

Kirby began to inhale again, taking in the Hurley. Kirby jumped up. Two paddles, one blue and one red, began to knock Kirby around. The two paddles squashed Kirby between them. Kirby squeezed out, grabbed the two paddles. They became flimsy as Kirby put the blue one on his head and wrapped the red one around it. He had become Ball Kirby.

Kirby jumped up from the Warp Star and turned into a ball. He crashed into Mumbies sending both himself and the ghastly creature into the castle via the collapsed tower. Mumbies quickly regained itself and began to fire energy blasts at Kirby again. Kirby, still in his ball form, began to bounce off the walls. Mumbies continued to fire, but Kirby was bouncing too quickly.

Eventually, Mumbies quit firing. It revealed a ferocious mouth below its eye. It latched onto Kirby, causing him to lose his ball form. "Spin Kick!" A Two Face crashed through a wall, quickly followed by Knuckle Joe. Seeing Mumbies, he ran over to it, grabbed it and threw it over his head. "Overhead Throw!" Mumbies crashed into the wall. Kirby morphed back into a ball and began to bounce against the walls again. After gaining high speed, he bounced himself right into Mumbies so hard that Mumbies eye was knocked out of the wrap. The cloth fell to the floor and the eye disintegrated. Kirby morphed back to his regular form as the cap disappeared.

Poppy Jr. and Rocky walked into the wrecked tower. The ghosts were all gone now. "There they are," said Poppy Jr. The duo walked over to Kirby and Knuckle Joe. "So, did we win?"

Knuckle Joe shook his head. "No…we still gotta find the old hag."

"Speak, and you shall be answered, fools!" The group looked to see Broom Hatter standing at the top of the collapsed castle tower. "Kee kee kee…so you have defeated some of my ghosts. It matters not! I can easily summon another legion of ghosts! Wait…no, it can't already be…morning!" The sun was just now coming up. Broom Hatter shrieked as the light hit her.

"Now's our chance! Rocky, come here!" said Knuckle Joe.

"Very well…but why?"

"Here's why!" Joe grabbed Rocky and threw him at Broom Hatter, knocking her off the tower. The group ran over to her and Rocky, who was now quite peeved. Joe grabbed her and forced her against the wall. "Alright, hag! Where's the Sparkling Star?"

Broom Hatter laughed wickedly. "Kee kee kee…wouldn't you like to know…it is in this castle. But you will not easily find the room which we have hidden it…" a poof of smoke enveloped the group. After it cleared up, Broom Hatter was gone.

Kirby sighed. "Well, we know what we gotta do, right? Let's go get that Sparkling Star."

To be Continued

There you have it. Review please! And I might just decide to get off my lazy butt and write some more! Maybe!


	16. It's Good to be Rich

Ka_ZOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!_ WHAT? Is it possible? Another chapter ALREADY? YES! Chapter 15 is up! I told you guys you'd get more chapters!

Xanxi: Since the anime only had a handful of the full list of Kirby abilities...guess I had to do that. Glad my high paced ghost busting chapter worked out. :D

Anyways, here's Chapter 15

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 15

It's Good to Have Money

Trila was awoken by Meta Knight's voice. _…oh, must've dozed off…_"What is it Meta?"

"Trila, do you have anything new?"

"Yeah. It looks like Dedede is still actively searching for the third Sparkling Star. What I'm concerned about is what his plans with them are. It seems that he aims to harness their power."

"He won't find it. What about their airship?"

"I think they've almost finished their repairs. Do you want me to slow them down?"

"Yes, I need another day. Think you can slow them down that much?"

"That won't be too hard." Trila took out her trident, silently leapt across the rafters and headed off toward the airship dock.

* * *

Sir Kibble approached Kaboola. Capsule J was overseeing the final repairs. "Will we be ready soon?" 

Capsule J nodded. "We'll be ready to take flight in a few minutes." A large explosion rocked the docking bay. When the smoke cleared, a huge gaping hole replaced the engine. "What happened!"

One of the mechanics ran up to him. "We don't know. This shouldn't have happened, sir."

"…His majesty will not be happy about this. I'm heading out now. Let me know when you complete the repairs…again…" Sir Kibble walked out of the room.

Capsule J turned to the mechanics. "Find out what happened. Contact Waddle Doo, right now."

Waddle Doo's image appeared on a large screen. "I understand that the repairs will soon be complete."

"Unfortunately not, sir. We seem to have met with complications. We were attacked. Probably by the same person who had attacked us the other night. I recommend that we increase palace security. We may have an intruder."

* * *

Poppy Jr. yawned as the group continued to walk through the dank interior of the castle. "Is anyone else exhausted? We've been at this since dawn…and we didn't get any sleep last night." 

"I definitely don't recommend sleeping in here…unless you want to be set upon by our friends again."

"Meh…anyways, how long have we been in here?" asked Poppy.

"I don't know…but this place really is a maze…everything seems to look the same…" said Kirby. He looked around the small corridors. "I don't even think we could find a way out of here if we wanted to…anyone else noticed that we seem to be…alone in here?"

Knuckle Joe nodded. "Yeah, man, I bet they're just waiting somewhere for us."

Kirby was starting to feel a little weary. "Anyone…else feel really tired?"

Poppy Jr. turned to Kirby. "I just said…that…woah…you're right…I feel…really…tired…" Poppy Jr. fell to the floor, quickly followed by Kirby.

Knuckle Joe and Rocky quickly turned around. "Kirby! Poppy! What's going on? Wait…wait…it must be…sleeping…" A faint yellow-green gas was flowing through the room. Knuckle Joe fell to the ground.

Rocky looked around. "Oh my…this does not bode…well…" Rocky also fell asleep.

A group of small, yellow spherical creatures wearing pink nightcaps ran up to the group and dragged them away.

* * *

Kirby opened his eyes slowly. He was in a rather large room. There were boxes all over the place. He was tied up to a pillar. Suddenly Lololo floated up in front of Kirby. "So, you're the one we're supposed to capture? Alright, well we got what we want from you, so after we deliver these two Sparkling Stars to King Dedede, we'll let you guys go." 

Kirby shook his head to wake himself up some more. "...Wha? How did you...capture us?"

Lololo chuckled. "Heh heh. Broom Hatter happened to have a group of Noddies here. And as you know, Noddies can emit a rather potent sleeping gas."

Lalala waved Lololo over. "Hey, Lololo, look at this one. Doesn't he look like…Rocky?"

Lololo floated over. "Rocky? Hey yeah. Looks like he's coming to! Rocky, what are you doing with these guys. How low class of you!"

"Ah…Lololo, Lalala, how have you two been doing? I've just been watching over these guys to make sure that they didn't get in over their heads. Hmm…well it seems like they did anyways…oh well."

Lalala chuckled to herself. "I guess so! Sorry for having to tie you up like this. No hard feelings right?"

"Oh, of course not."

Kirby turned to Rocky. "What are you doing, Rocky! They're the enemy!"

Rocky turned annoyingly back to Kirby. "Please, Kirby. Perhaps they are your enemy on your heroic crusade against the King, but frankly, the only reason I came with you guys was because I was worried that Knuckle Joe over there would get himself killed."

"Rocky, why are you talking to these two like they're your friends?"

Lalala floated over to Kirby. "That's because he is! He costarred in all three of our "Adventures of Lolo" movies! Rocky's an old friend!"

Lololo floated behind Rocky. "You want out pal?"

Rocky nodded. "Why thank you Lololo! Nothing would please me more than to help you get the Sparkling Stars back to King Dedede."

Kirby growled. "Rocky! How could you?"

Rocky turned back to Kirby. "Why, this whole situation is your fault! You know what, this wouldn't be necessary if you hadn't decided to play the hero in the first place. King Dedede had decided that I was his enemy because of what you've done. When Knuckle Joe rescued me, I had decided to move as far from Dreamland as possible. However, when Meta Knight told me where you were and what you were doing, I knew that if I proved my loyalty to his majesty, I would be a free man again." Kirby was silent after this. "Well, Lololo, Lalala, shall we?"

The duo nodded. The two began to float off. "Wait," called Rocky. "Before we go, I need to do one more thing." He turned, ran at Kirby and jumped. Kirby closed his eyes, waiting to be crushed by Rocky. Instead, Rocky crashed into the pillar, knocking it down. Kirby was now free.

Lololo and Lalala furiously turned back. "Rocky! You traitor! Don't expect to get a part in our next movie!"

"I'm crushed. Now, we'll be taking those Sparkling Stars." Rocky and Kirby moved toward Lololo and Lalala. "…unless of course, you'd like to fight the two of us. Of course, since you're both about half the size of the two of us…I think it'd be much simpler to give up now."

Lololo and Lalala turned to each other and laughed. Lalala turned back to Rocky. "Do you think we weren't ready to stop you guys? We're MOVIE STARS! Not only that, we're ACTION MOVIE STARS! You can't beat us because we're freaking RICH! Bring it on! Hey Lololo, why don't we introduce them to our friend!"

Lololo smirked and nodded. "Right…Kirby, I'd like to introduce you to a friend of ours. Meet my stunt double, Lola!"

A purple person, who looked similar to Lololo and Lalala, except he was about twice the size of Kirby, jumped into the room. He also had yellow hair. "I'm going to PUMP YOU UP! GYEIH!!!"

To be Continued

Review please. We'll soon be moving onto Float Islands...soon...(/chapter)


	17. Worst Song Ever

I'd like to apologize to everyone who expected faster updates...I'm sorry. (Note to self: publicity stunts like this are great ways to attract reviewers...oh shoot, you guys didn't read that!)

On a more serious note, I'd like to thank all you guys who did review! So without further ado...THANK YOU!

Xanxi: I know people will hate me for this...but Lola isn't a reference to the anime as much as he is to...something else, which will become very clear...very quickly...um...thanks for reviewing:D

Giant Enemy Rabbid: Thank you for reading my story...and reviewing!

Shining Riku: Well...heh heh...I finally got around to reading your story (it's called Supremacy, if anyone is curious and would like to check out a good Smash Bros. fanfic). Thank you for being more faithful a reviewer than I!:)

Wizard of Pie: ...Update POW3R! Just kidding, like I said, sorry for making you guys wait so long. I will try to update more frequently...TRY...

Gooey: Heh, you're absolutely right! I should go and fix that. I probably will after uploading this chapter...which by the time you read this it'll have already been done...hmm...there's a thinker for ya...

Anyways, I hope this chapter was good enough to wait for. It's probably the least serious chapter I've written so far, just to mix things up, but I don't think I took it to far...I hope.

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 16

Worst. Song. Ever.

"It's JUDGEMENT DAY for you, Girly-Men!" yelled Lola in his thick accent.

Kirby and Rocky looked at each other then burst in laughter. Kirby spoke between the laughs. "Girly-Men? You have a girl's name and you call US Girly-Men? And what's with the awful parody voice anyways?"

Lololo answered. "Well, he's either insane, or we've landed into the 4Kids dub of this fanfiction!" Everyone gave Lololo an odd stare at this statement. Lololo then realized his mistake. "Oh shoot…kinda broke the, uh, fourth wall there, huh? Well, this is kind of awkward…"

Kirby decided to end the awkward moment. "Anyways…we were just about to pummel you guys…so Rocky, shall we?"

Rocky glanced to Kirby. "Um…yes."

Lalala interjected. "Hah! You have no idea who you're dealing with! Lola is one of the strongest Dreamlanders out there! Lola, show them by throwing one of those crates at them!"

Rocky lunged at Lola before he had a chance, but Lola caught him and began to toss him into the air. "You think you are tough? I warm up lifting weights heavier than you! Now, prepare to be TERMINATED!" Lola threw Rocky into another pillar. Coincidentally, this pillar was also where Poppy Jr. and Knuckle Joe were tied up. The two, already coming out of their daze, were fully awoken by the pillar's impact.

"Jeez!" shouted Knuckle Joe. "What's going on Rocky?"

Rocky slowly got back up. "We're…attempting to take the Sparkling Star from Lololo and Lalala…if you and Poppy Jr. would be so kind as to help…it would be greatly appreciated." Poppy Jr. and Knuckle Joe looked at each other, then back at Rocky and nodded.

"Kee kee kee…Wait, my guests!" Broom Hatter materialized before them again.

Poppy Jr. sighed in frustration. "This is getting really old! We just kicked your sorry butt along with all your pathetic ghosts!"

Broom Hatter laughed wickedly. "Kee kee kee…oh…did you?" Several more Chuckys, Hurleys, and Two Faces appeared. "Your friend is on his own!"

Knuckle Joe scoffed. "More of these guys? Hah, this won't take long."

Broom Hatter still didn't seem worried. "You poor fools…perhaps these creatures were too weak to defeat you…however, my newest creatures may prove more powerful. Lola! Why don't you open that large crate and unleash my newest creatures." Lola, who had just flattened Kirby under his foot for the third time, broke the crate open unhindered. What came out was one of the greatest horrors in all Dreamland. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. DESPAIR IN FRONT OF THE GORDOS!" The creatures were blue-colored spheres surrounded by yellow spikes. Touching a Gordo inflicted one of the most excruciating pains known to Dreamland. All movement stopped as the Gordos began to slowly move throughout the room. Though the creatures were seemingly unintelligent, they were smart enough to distinguish between friend and foe. The Gordos surrounded Kirby and his friends. "Well, Lololo, Lalala, you two can take those Sparkling Stars while Lola and I finish off these intruders."

"GET TO THE CHOPPA! GYEIIEGH!" shouted Lola.

"…There is no chopper…" said Lalala. "Why is your stunt double such a freak?"

"And to think that he wanted to go into politics…" said Lololo. "Well, take care of them, you two. We'll be back soon."

"Oh no you don't!" Rocky leaped past the Gordos and chased Lololo and Lalala through the doorway. Kirby quickly followed him.

Poppy Jr. threw a set of small bombs at the Gordos. When the smoke cleared, the Gordos were still there, without a scratch. Knuckle Joe threw a few smash punches with the same results. The two glanced at each other with some worry. "Well…" began Poppy Jr. "I think we're in trouble…a lot of trouble…"

"They're almost as much a threat to them as they are to us," observed Knuckle Joe. "So you know what we gotta do. I'll take the big guy, you take the hag." The two leaped past the Gordos and headed toward their respective targets. Knuckle Joe jumped in front of Lola. "Alright! Get ready for a beating!"

"I am! For YOURS!" Lola smashed his palm at Knuckle Joe. Joe jumped out of the way, causing Lola to momentarily lose his balance.

"Alright! Here it comes! Vulcan Jab! Vulcan Jab!" Lola fell down. "Now for the finisher! Overhead Throw!" Knuckle Joe grabbed Lola, and in one swift movement, tossed him over his head straight into a Gordo.

"GYEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH!" Lola began to run around the room because of the excruciating pain.

Poppy Jr. was having some difficulty dealing with Broom Hatters ghost minions. For each one he destroyed, another would take its place. Several Gordos were still slowly tailing him. Several ghosts had hit the Gordos, but he still couldn't get to his target. "GYEEIIIIIGH!" Lola rushed by Poppy Jr., almost knocking him down, and crashed straight into Broom Hatter. The two fell down, knocked out.

Poppy Jr. sighed as Knuckle Joe walked up to them. "I think Kirby needs our help now. Let's leave these guys with their Gordos. If they're lucky, they won't accidentally bump into one." The two ran through the door that Kirby, Rocky, Lololo, and Lalala had gone through.

(Meanwhile)

Rocky trailed the two actors as they made their way out the castle. However, they turned one last corner before Rocky, and when Rocky turned, he quickly came out to an outdoor balcony and was met with a blow to the head from a crate that Lololo and Lalala had dropped on him. Rocky just stood there for a second. "…Tell me…did you really think that would work? I mean, it was a small wooden box for crying out loud. And what's in it…microphone equipment? You two were never the brightest bunch, but please, this is just sad."

Kirby quickly caught up with Rocky. "Do we have 'em?"

Rocky nodded. "It looks like you have two choices. Give the Sparkling Stars to us, or…Kirby will put an end to you two in his own unique way."

Lololo and Lalala looked at each other and chuckled. "Oh, you mean his vacuum power? If you hadn't noticed, we're quite a bit higher than you two are. I believe we'll just be on our way now."

Rocky sighed. "Well…you've taken several things out of consideration with that statement. Kirby…why don't we see what happens when you swallow that equipment on the ground."

Kirby nodded and inhaled the microphone equipment. Kirby jumped up. A pair of headphones floated toward Kirby. He grabbed them, spun around and put them on. He then began to dance around a little as a microphone also flew into his hand. He also spun around as he grabbed it, danced a little more, then landed on the ground smiling happily.

Everyone stopped to see what would happen. Kirby didn't seem to be acting normal as he just continued to thoughtlessly smile. He then brought the microphone to his mouth and began to sing. "KIIIIIIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY, IT'S THE NAME YOU SHOULD KNOW! KIIIIIIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY, HE'S THE STAR OF THE SHOW! HE'S MORE THAN YOU THINK HE'S GOT MAXIMUM PINK! KIIIIIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY'S THE ONE! HE'S COMIN' RIIIIIIIGHT BACK AT YA! HE'S COMIN' RIIIIIIIIIIGHT BACK AT YA! GIVE IT ALL THAT YA GOT! TAKE YOUR VERY BEST SHOT, HE'LL SEND IT RIGHT BACK AT YA FOR SUUUURE! YEEEAAAHHH! HOW CAN I HELP YOU KING DEDEDE? I NEED A MONSTER TO CLOBBER THAT THERE KIRBY! THAT'S WHAT WE DO BEST AT N.M.E.! YOU BETTER GET IT WITH A MONEY BACK GARUNTEE!"

The song continued as everyone within hearing distance grabbed their ears in pain. Lololo and Lalala dropped the stars in the chaos. "Oh HOW could anyone's singing voice be THAT ANNOYING! And why does he have to sing THAT song! That song is an abomination! Thanks A LOT 4KIDS!" shouted Lololo.

"Lololo! Fourth Wall! Even though you're right!" said Lalala.

Rocky looked at Kirby. "Kirby! We got the Stars…now please sto-"

"OOOOOHHHHHHHHHH KIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY! SAVING THE DAAAAAY! KIIIIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY, HE'S HERE TO STAY! DON'T BE FOOLED BY HIS SIZE, YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES! KIIIIIIIRBYYYY! KIRBY! KIIIIRBYYYYY! KIRBY! KIRBY! KIRBY! KIRBY, KIRBY, KIRBY'S THE OOOOOONNNNEEEE! RIGHT BACK AT YA! YEAH!"

As he sang, the entire castle began to crumble. Knuckle Joe and Poppy Jr. barely got out as the castle collapsed. Kirby then went back to normal and looked around, completely oblivious to what had just happened. He saw a dazed Rocky standing next to him. "Rocky…what happened."

"Don't…EVER…swallow…a mike…AGAIN!" Rocky then fell over, twitching.

Knuckle Joe and Poppy Jr. found the other two quickly. "Kirby, what happened back there?" Asked Poppy Jr.

"Don't know. But we got the Sparkling Stars. So I guess we won…"

(Meanwhile)

Meta Knight had watched the battle by way of Meta-Droid recording it. _Kirby is advancing at a much higher pace than I could've anticipated. _"Thank you, Meta-Droid. Will your systems be able to repair themselves?"

"Damage from sound waves are minor. There is no need to slow primary functions."

Meta Knight nodded. "Alright…approach Kirby and his comrades. Tell them to head toward the nearby port at Orange Ocean. A boat will take them to the Float Islands Resort. That is all."

"Command confirmed. Proceeding to accomplish mission, immediately. Is there any need to inform Kirby of possible attacks by King Dedede?"

"…No. I've already assured that there will be. But I don't want Kirby to see it coming this time."

"Affirmative."

(Meanwhile)

"Whaddya mean you can't get no feedback? I wanna see what happened to Kirby, right now!" Dedede was yet again throwing a fit at the likelihood that Kirby had two stars.

Waddle Doo sighed. "We're very sorry sire. It appears that the Spyhopper was destroyed by whatever Kirby did."

Dedede growled. "That punk's got two stars now! That's unexpectable! We gotta get that third star."

Waddle Doo explained, "But sire, we don't know where it is! And we also have to deal with a possible spy!"

Dedede again growled. "That darn Kirby! We gotta take him out!"

"We'll do what we can, sire," said Waddle Doo. "In the meantime, you'll be glad to know that the doctor is on his way."

"You done told him what's goin' on?"

"…Not yet sire…" Waddle Doo saw that King Dedede was becoming, yet again, infuriated. "B-but I'll get on it right away!"

Dedede got up and began pacing around the room, Waddle Dee following him and fanning him. There's gotta be someway I can trap him…he's gotta have some weakness. This time, I gotta send someone I can count on to take out Kirby…"

Dedede walked over to his throne and pressed a button. A screen came out of the walls and Sir Kibble appeared on it. He kneeled down. "What does his majesty wish?"

"You been hearing about Kirby's powers right?"

"I have your highness. I have been preparing a strategy against him ever since he became our enemy. I haven't found a perfect formula…but I believe I'm getting closer."

"Well good. Cause I'm gonna send you to get the third Sparkling Star when we find it. I'll let you know when to go. You get ready. Can you take Kaboola?"

"I'm afraid not, Sire. Repairs are still being done. It will be ready tomorrow morning though."

Dedede scowled. "We can't wait that long. You just gonna have to go without it."

"As you command, Sire."

To be Continued

There you have it...I will try to update asap! We're coming up to the halfway mark people! Float Islands is next!


	18. The Doctor's Name

Huzzah! Yet another long awaited update...sorry. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Much different feel from the last one...which I am glad was received so well! Anyways, you know what comes next!

Lady HexaKnight: I'm glad you're still enjoying my story! And I do believe that the plot development in this chapter will keep you and everyone else intrigued, why the title itself does suggest that the identity of our mysterious doctor will soon be revealed!

Shining Riku: Thanks for the comment. Humor is usually hit or miss for me...glad I hit it good! And I will finish reviewing your Smash Bros. fic...someday. It's called Supremacy in case anyone is curious!

Xanxi: Again. I'm really glad I hit the nail into your funny bone...Oo...anyways...

The next couple of chapters are going to be heavy in plot development, so I hope you like what you see! Now what could I be forgetting...oh! The disclaimer!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 17

The Doctor's Name

Kirby and company were heading away from the ruins of Broom Hatter's castle. It was now midday. Rocky had recovered from his traumatic experience. However, he refused to be anywhere near Kirby. Everyone was still exhausted from the lack of sleep, minus the small amount of time spent knocked out by the Noddies. They had agreed to find a place to sleep and reenergize. However, their delusions of rest were interrupted by the approach of Meta-Droid.

As soon as Kirby saw him, he knew that he would not be sleeping any time soon. "Awwww…c'mon…we just spent an entire night fighting a bunch of freaks…can't you give us a days rest?"

"Negative," came Meta-Droid's blunt response. "Star of Fire recovered. New objective: Retake the Star of Water from the Float Islands. Confirm objective."

Rocky's eyes seemed to brighten at the news. "Float Islands…as in, the famous island resort? Well this is quite a pleasant surprise. It just so happens that I was heading that way."

"Why?" asked Knukle Joe.

"Because, my friend, I had received a job at the resort after Kawasaki's went out of business. This is most fortunate. I'll be rid of this insane quest."

Kirby sighed. "Fine…but how do we get there?"

"Passage has been prepared at Orange Ocean port. Confirm objective."

"Fine, we'll go…at least we'll be able to get some rest on the way there," Kirby sighed. He was beginning to feel weary from his adventure.

* * *

_Day XD:_

_I'm so happy! After so many months of working for his majesty, I finally am able to head off on a vacation to visit mother. I haven't seen her in so long. I always told her that I'd become really famous and become an expert in the field of science. Well my expertise is unquestioned…but no one at the castle really appreciates me. Perhaps I should consider quitting. What am I saying? As much as his highness abuses me, this job is all I have. Besides, he funds my research. Maybe I'll be able to help people one day…though I get the feeling that His Majesty's rotten personality has begun to rub off on me…oh dear, I hope mother isn't too disappointed. I had told her that I had become a famous scientist…which isn't exactly untrue…I am a scientist, and it's not like I told her I had become king or something. Hah hah hah…anyways, I'll reach my hometown tomorrow, and after visiting mother, I'll head off to the Float Islands Resort! Well, I guess that's all for today!_

_Day :P_

_Well…mother found out that I wasn't a famous scientist…who would have thought that Sir Kibble would have passed through that day. Mother said that as long as I did my work for good though, I'd always make her proud. Oh, what have I become? I wanted so badly to do good stuff with my research…but so far, I've just helped design weapons for His Majesty…sigh…hopefully my humanitarian research will begin one day, but I find myself enjoying making this stuff…does that make me a bad person…on another note, Sir Kibble seemed quite troubled when I spoke with him. He said that the king had sent him to look for something…he wouldn't tell me though. However, he seemed troubled that the king would have him look for them. He, of course, never said anything, as Sir Kibble is one of the most honorable men I know…but…something about the way he spoke to me. Anyways…so far the day at Float Islands has been wonderful. I met the most polite gentleman you could meet. He seemed rather mysterious though…I wonder why he wears that mask. He also was holding a small blue star. It's kind of funny…I think I've seen something like that before…oh well, I guess I shouldn't worry about it. Anyways, I'm going to bed now. Night night!_

_Day _

_GRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGG! What did I do to deserve this? Yesterday was amazing, but in the middle of the night, I get a message from Waddle Doo! He tells me that there is an emergency at the palace and they need me to come back! Am I doomed to live a miserable existence for all my days? Sigh…I'm on the boat now and…oh, it looks like we're almost back…sigh…just another day in the miserable life of Doctor_

"Excuse me…Doctor? You have a call from one Waddle Doo. Would you like to take it?" said the crewman, holding a portable phone.

The doctor looked up. "Huh? Oh, very well. Give it to me and leave me alone! What do you want?"

Waddle Doo's voice came from the receiver. "Doctor, we have an escort to bring you back to the castle."

"Fine, but can you please tell me what's happening?"

"Oh…we are recovering the Sparkling Stars. We need you to come back so you can do research and develop powerful weapons for us."

"Wait a minute. King Dedede removed the Sparkling Stars? That idiot! What is he thinking? Doesn't he know what's gonna happen if he doesn't put them back?"

"Hold your tongue, Doctor!"

"Don't tell me what to do! I outrank you! I'm the king's right hand man and his head scientist! Does His Majesty know all of this?"

"Yes he does."

"…Sorry mother…fine! Now tell me, do you have all five stars?"

"Five? No, there are only four…besides we only have one. One is still missing, and Kirby has two of them!"

"Are you kidding me? First off: there ARE five stars! And secondly, who in the world is Kirby?"

"He's a trouble maker! He has been an annoyance since yesterday! He has been foiling His Majesty's plans. That's why we need you back here as soon as possible."

"Fine!" _wait…_"You said that one was still missing?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well…I think I know where it is…Float Islands."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am!"

"I'll tell the king. Goodbye."

"Sigh…back to my journal I guess…where was I? Oh yes."

_Escargoon._

* * *

Kirby and crew approached the dock and immediately spotted the pleasure cruise. "Guess we should board it," said Poppy Jr. 

As they approached the boarding platform Kirby bumped into a green shelled, purple skinned snail. The snail immediately turned around and gave Kirby a piece of his mind. "Watch where you're going! Why can't people be more considerate? If people like you weren't around, we'd all be able to have happy lives! But NOOOOOOOOOOO! There have to be idiots like YOU who bump into people! You're a jerk!"

"Uh…Doctor Escargoon…please this way."

"Oh, fine." The snail turned back and glared at Kirby. "Let me tell you something. You may think life is all happy and flowery at the moment, but YOU just wait until someone bumps into you!" The snail then turned and walked away.

Everyone just stood there completely dumbfounded. Kirby quietly whispered, "I'm sorry." Then they slowly began to board the ship that would take them to Float Island.

* * *

Dedede had decided to contact Escargoon personally for this one. The snail provided false enthusiasm for the king. "So, you tellin' me that there be five of those Sparklering Star thing-a-ma-jigs?" 

"…uh…yes, your highness. You obviously missed the fifth one. If you like, I can retrieve the fifth star on our way back to the castle."

"Yeah! You go and do that! Then we can make weapons to beat back those there aliens and people will start respectifyin' me!"

"Sire…out of curiosity how far did your education take you?"

"I went to preschool!"

The snail subtly rolled his eyes. "Ah…"

"Wait a darn minute! You makin' fun of me?"

Escargoon's eyes widened. "Oh! No, no of course not!...a heh heh heh heh…gulp…"

"Well good, cause you got know right to make fun of people who're smarter than you!"

Escargoon sighed. "Of course…your Highness…"

Meanwhile, just outside the room, Trila was in contact with Meta Knight. "That's right, they're going for the Star of Sealing."

Meta Knight was silent for a moment. "Trila, I'm much too far away for the moment to be able to intercept them…can you go?"

"Yes…I won't let you down, Meta…" she put away the walkie-talkie and silently leaped out of a window in the building, then activated her jet boots to speed off toward the Fountain of Dreams.

However, she was not unseen. "Gotcha…" Capsule J, sheathed his ray gun and after waiting a few minutes, activated his jet pack. He rocketed out of the castle at an incredibly high speed. It didn't matter that she was a couple of minutes ahead of him. He knew where she was going, and he would make sure that she did not interfere with the king's plans.

To be Continued

Fun n Games is over kiddies. Your playing with the big boys now...and as always...review!


	19. Expedition

Bonjour mes amis, I hope you are not too startled by my speedy update. :D Anyways, I decided that I owe at least that much to you all. First...let's take care of business.

Shining Riku: Ya know. I plan on throwing lots of twists into my story...and maybe a couple unexpected loopholes...you'll just have to wait and see...

Xanxi: Well, I hope that I can sucessfully portray Escargoon in my story. He was pretty hard to write dialogue for. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

This is gonna be a somewhat short chapter...but it's still moving the story along...and give me some credit, I updated really quick...cough...without further ado...the disclaimer!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 18

Expedition

It was about evening when Knuckle Joe woke up Kirby. "Hey, Kirby! We're almost there!"

Kirby opened his eyes and yawned. He got up and saw the islands which held the world class resort. The Float Islands were so named because the islands were not connected to any land mass whatsoever. In fact, this caused the islands to change position at times.

The boat docked. As Kirby and the rest of the guests got off the boat, Rocky rushed past them. "Well, my friends, it has been…an experience to say the least…now if you don't mind, I have a job to do." Rocky left the group and headed for the resort.

"I guess that's that," said Poppy Jr. "So where do we go now?"

"Excuse me, sir." A very well dressed person came walking up to Kirby. "Are you, by any chance, Kirby?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"Well sir, your rooms have been prepared. We can take you to the resort right away. Please follow me."

"Wait," said Kirby. "How did you guys know we'd be coming."

"Ah yes. One of our guests informed us that you would arrive today. He went by the name of…Sir Meta Knight, I believe. Please board the monorail." Kirby and the other two boarded the monorail and it speeded off toward the resort.

"Meta Knight?" exclaimed Knuckle Joe. "What's he doing here?"

"You know Meta Knight, Joe?" asked Kirby.

"Well, sort of…he's the one who sent me and Rocky after you."

"Wait a minute…who's this Meta Knight?" asked Poppy Jr.

"I really don't know…" said Kirby. "He came to this planet in a spaceship a couple of days ago…he's also the one that sent me on this quest and gave me the Warp Star…now that I think about it…Meta Knight's been leading me through this whole quest…what does he want?"

"He's against Dedede and that's good enough for me," said Knuckle Joe.

"Maybe...but I think we should learn more about him before we decide to completely trust him…" mused Poppy Jr.

_Maybe_ thought Kirby. _But he does seem to have the planets best interest in mind. Even Waddle Dee agreed that the Sparkling Stars should be taken back…perhaps I'll see Meta Knight sometime tonight or tomorrow…_

* * *

Sir Kibble approached a rather small battleship in Castle Dedede's lower dock. He didn't see a need to take an entire armada to Float Island. One small ship would let him slip in, get the star, and get out. However, he knew that there was a good chance that he'd also encounter Kirby. Kirby…this virtually unknown Dreamlander who had somehow become a national threat within a day. He saw the fights against General Shroomer, the Poppy Elves, Whispy Woods, and his attack on Broom Hatter's castle. Kirby was definitely a powerful warrior. Whatever tactic he used against Kirby would be used against him. What could he do? 

Better yet…was he doing the right thing? He knew the consequences of removing the Sparkling Stars. But he was a knight. He lived by a code of honor. He had vowed to protect and do the bidding of King Dedede. He had a duty, and he would fulfill it.

Waddle Doo's face appeared on a screen in front of Sir Kibble. "Sir Kibble, is your crew ready?"

"Hmm…oh, ahem. Yes sir. We are ready to head off for the Float Islands. We should reach it sometime early tomorrow morning, as it is on the other side of Dreamland. We are ready to launch." Waddle Doo nodded and turned off the screen. Sir Kibble turned to his small crew. "We are heading for Float Islands…" Sir Kibble then realized that he hadn't slept in almost two days. "…I'll be sleeping under. Wake me when we arrive." Sir Kibble went below deck as the ship sailed off toward the Float Islands.

* * *

Kirby had lost no time in going to sleep as soon as he was shown to his room. The beds were beyond comfortable, allowing for Kirby to sleep for hours. However, his sleep was interrupted by a knock on his room door. Kirby's eyes slowly opened and he looked at his clock. "11:00…who'd come here that late?" Kirby got out of his bed and opened the door. "Meta Knight!" Indeed, the masked swordsman was standing just outside of Kirby's room. 

"Come with me," said Meta Knight. He then turned and began to briskly walk down the hallway. Kirby quickly followed him.

"Wait! Where are we going?" asked Kirby.

Meta Knight glanced back. "We are going to retrieve the Sparkling Star. I've found its location. It is deep inside a large cavern underneath the resort. We will traverse the cavern and retrieve the star. We must make haste. The situation has become more dire…"

"Wait, what do you mean? Why all of a sudden is the planet in so much more danger than before?" Meta Knight paused for a moment, then began to walk briskly again. "Don't ignore me! I want to know what's going on!"

"Too bad," said Meta Knight as he continued walking. "We can't always know what is happening. For the moment, you'll just have to trust me…however, I will tell you that your king is about to do something extremely dangerous…and if he succeeds, we won't have much time left…"

Kirby looked confused at Meta Knight. "…What do you mean "we won't have much time left"? What's happening Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight stopped again and seemed to just stand there trying to think of what to say. "…Nevermind. Just know that the sooner we retrieve the stars, the better chance we'll have of saving your planet." They walked out of the hotel lobby and away from the normal walkways.

They soon arrived at the entrance of a cave. "Is this it?" asked Kirby.

"Yes." Meta Knight opened a bag that he had been carrying. Inside were a pair of flashlights and what appeared to be spelunking gear. "Come, we haven't much time." They each activated their flashlights and headed in.

To be Continued

Well...more intruige and mysteriousness...woo hoo! Review plz!


	20. Disaster

hey y'all! Decided it was about time I updated. So here ya go. Well, first I'm gonna do that thing that I always do...

Xanxi: Well, I guess my fast updating streak didn't last very long...um...so yeah...anyways, you are correct! I've decided that there will be eleven chronicles. The first ten will be Kirby games (specifically up to the new Wii game that will eventually be released) and the final will be an original story that will be a culmination of the other stories. I will be making references to this final confrontation throughout my saga. I will say no more...in fact, I may have already said to much...anyways...

Shining Riku: Well, I'm flattered, but I don't know if I'm doing that well yet. However, I do indeed appreciate the compliment. Oh, and good luck with your Smash story too! It's really good! Hey, everyone, check out Supremecy!

Anyways, to say the least, we have reached the turning point in the story. Now...disclaimer!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 19

Disaster

Kirby and Meta Knight walked through the dark cavern. Kirby had been silent for a while, following Meta Knight as the two traversed the cavern, climbing down steep cliffs. But eventually, Kirby needed to ask Meta Knight the several questions that had been bothering him ever since his quest began. "Meta Knight…why didn't you just take the star yourself? Why are you making me come with you to do this? If you're so concerned about my planet's safety, then why aren't you doing anything?" Meta Knight said nothing as he continued to lead the way. "I won't go any further until you answer me!"

Meta Knight stopped and after a few seconds turned around. His eyes glowed a deep red color that startled Kirby. "You aren't ready yet…" Kirby looked confusedly at Meta Knight. Meta Knight regained his composure, his eyes returning to their yellow color as he continued. "If you leave, know that you doom everyone."

Kirby wasn't ready to give in. "All I want is to know what's going on!"

Meta Knight's eyes turned green. "Do you truly think you are prepared to know the truth?"

"Yes," Kirby simply stated.

"…Then…" Meta Knight pulled a sword out of his sheath and threw it to Kirby. "You will have to defeat me."

* * *

Escargoon had arrived at the Fountain of Dreams. He and the soldiers that were with him searched the fountain and surrounding structures for any sign of the Sparkling Star. Eventually one of the soldiers came up to him. "Excuse me, Doctor, but we've searched the area and there's no sign of the Sparkling Star." 

"…Wait…look at this shape on the fountain…it's star shaped but it just looks like part of the fountain…I wonder. I'm going to get a closer-" As soon as Escargoon began to walk toward the fountain, a trident hit the ground mere inches away from him. A small, purple-armor clad individual hovered down in front of him. Escargoon backed away quickly. "Uh…uh…uh, soldiers! Take care of that guy!" The soldiers surrounded the individual, holding their spears in front of them.

The individual's crescent began to glow. Clouds began to gather as lightning began to erratically hit the ground. The soldiers scattered for cover. The individual approached Escargoon. "Leave now," she said.

Escargoon gulped and began to back away toward the vehicle. "Um...right I was…just leaving." As he got back into the vehicle, the armor-clad individual suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Doctor, the situation is under control. Feel free to continue your work." Escargoon turned around to see Capsule J sheathing his ray gun. He put the armor-clad individual in handcuffs as he put her in the back of the vehicle.

Escargoon nodded and walked toward the fountain. He stared at the star then began to pull on it. As soon as he did, the star shape began to grow. The star came out of the fountain. It was a shining white color. As soon as he pulled it out, the fountain seemed to pulse. The sky turned a sickly green color as a massive storm began. Lightning hit the ground, the ground itself began to shake violently. Escargoon backed away from the fountain, completely shcked by what had just happened. He turned to Capsule J. "We need to leave now!" Capsule J nodded as he and all the soldiers piled into the vehicle. Escargoon took the star with him. "What have we done?" mused Escargoon, out of curiosity and fear.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me!" said Kirby. "Why should I fight you?" 

"You said you wanted to know what was going on, right? If you can defeat me, I will tell you. So, what is your decision? Shall you pick up the sword and fight me, or shall we stop wasting time? The choice is-" Meta Knight was interrupted by a rumbling sound. He looked around, noting that small pebbles on the ground were shaking, along with dirt falling from the cavern ceiling. Meta Knight's eyes glowed red. "…so, the seal has been broken..." All of a sudden, the ground began to violently shake. Kirby and Meta Knight dodged a few large stones. Eventually, though, the room caved in.

Once the shaking stopped, Kirby looked around, thankful that the large boulders hadn't squashed him. "Meta Knight! Are you there?" Kirby didn't hear anything. "Meta Knight!" Kirby tried to inhale the large rocks, but they were too heavy. Kirby looked around. To his surprise, there was a small passageway. Kirby went through it. He came out to a very different room. It was a vast open room. Large torches made a walkway to the center of the room. At the far end was a large, wooden statue. It was dome-shaped, the only distinctive features being the gaping eyes and mouth. The eyes seemed to peer into the entire universe. Kirby walked forward to the center of the room.

"Who are you?" said a deep booming voice. The voice echoed across the room. Kirby looked around, but didn't see anyone.

"M-my name is Kirby," Kirby said, deciding that answering was the best thing to do.

"Then you have come for the Star of Water. I have been expecting you. I am Kabu, an ancient guardian of this planet." Kirby turned to see that the statue itself was talking. "A great evil is being released. The inhabitants of your land have no idea of what the Sparkling Stars are keeping locked. By removing them, this planet will soon be plunged into darkness. The only way to stop it is to return the Sparkling Stars to their resting place in the Fountain of Dreams. Even so, the darkness has now been released. It is only a matter of time before the great evil breaks free of its prison."

Kirby wasn't sure he completely understood what he was hearing, however, he knew that to stop whatever this impending disaster was from happening, he must get the Sparkling Stars. "Alright…then can I have the Sparkling Star."

The dark eyes of Kabu seemed to peer into Kirby, though they did not move at all. "You do not know what you are…you have many questions…do you desire these answers?" Kirby nodded. "Very well. The trial of the Star Warrior will begin. If you pass this trial, you will receive the Sparkling Star, and perhaps a few answers."

"Star Warrior?" asked Kirby. _Star Warrior…I know that…I know I've heard it before…it seems…familiar…_

Kabu began to rise out of the ground. There was a loud mechanical sound, as if Kabu had detached itself from something. It began to spin around. The torches sunk into the ground. The ground was now completely flat. Kabu then spun rapidly toward Kirby. Kirby jumped out of the way and Kabu slammed into the wall, causing that part of the cave to collapse and bury Kabu. The spinning noise stopped and Kirby sighed in relief. His relief was short-lived as he heard the heavy noise of Kabu's spinning begin again. The boulders that were piled on were blown away, barely missing Kirby. Kabu began to rush at Kirby once again.

* * *

Meta Knight slowly got up. He was on the other side of the cave. _Kirby!_ Meta Knight looked around, but saw no sign of him. Meta Knight sat there, contemplating what may have just happened. _I have no time for this…I have to contact my crew._ Meta Knight's wings came out, and he began to fly back toward the entrance.

* * *

Sir Kibble surveyed the state of his ship. He and his troops had just about reached the island when the massive storm began. The ship was still in one piece, but it had run aground on a rocky shore, completely destroying the bottom of the hull. What's worse, the only land near them was a rather high rocky cliff. Sir Kibble silently groaned and began to climb up the cliff. 

To be Continued

Well, that's that. Can't think of anything creative to say. So review and have a wonderful day!


	21. Kirby of the Stars

Audience appears

First attack by Audience

Audience glares at Kracko64

Kracko64 dies a little on the inside

Kracko64 casts excuse

"I had school, big 15+ page paper. Leave me alone."

Audience is not affected

Audience casts insult

"Your lazy!"

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHH!

It's Super Effective

Kracko64 plays dead

FINISH HIM

Audience casts demands

"Update faster!"

"I will...oh dang!"

Kracko64 is spotted by audience

Kracko64 begs for mercy

"Oh please, I promise this won't happen again. Just please don't kill me.

Audience is indecisive

Kracko64 bribes audience with cookies

Audience accepts bribe

MASSIVE DAMAGE

Audience is defeated

Kracko64 has defeated all enemies.

You've earned 384 Experience Points

You've earned 5 Procrastination Points

You've earned 3 Hurt Feelings Points

You've earned 6 Excuse Points

You've earned 1 Sly Point

You've earned 3 Saddy Sad Points

You've earned an inexplicable amount of Hello Kitty Points

Hello Kitty? Wow, that came out of nowhere, anyways, as I have already explained in my battle simulation thingy, school was a real pain this past month. 15 pages on Soft Money in Campaign Financing is no picnic believe me (that's what I get for being a poly sci major though)! But guess what? I'm out of school...after this week...then I'm out of town until the 20th because my college singing group is going on tour (money is fun! And I like to sing, so it's all good!) Anyways, thank you listening audience! Now to express my gratitude to my two reviewers!

Shining Riku: Kirby does seem to have it pretty rough...just look what he has to go through this chapter!

Xanxi: As always, thank you for the review. And I appreciate that you think so highly of my story!

Anyways, after this month, I PROMISE more consistent updates...in other words, more than once a month. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I put a good couple of hours into it...btw happy belated birthday Kirby!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 20

Kirby of the Stars

Kirby sidestepped again, almost being crushed as Kabu span right by him for what had to be the tenth time. The pattern of Kabu's attack was simple, but it wore out Kirby quickly. Kirby flattened his body as Kabu's spinning caused another wave of sharp rocks to fly over him. Kirby quickly unflattened and sidestepped Kabu's attack again. Kirby still had a lot of energy, but he knew he couldn't keep up with Kabu forever.

Kirby ducked as more rocks flew above him. He looked quickly into the eyes of Kabu. The eyes showed no feeling, no emotion; and yet, Kirby could sense something about them. It was almost as if Kabu was peering into Kirby's soul. He shivered as he dwelt on that thought. Kabu span rapidly at Kirby again, Kirby jumped out of the way. _There has to be some other way…I can't just play defense with him...and I can't go at him with just brute strength…this room is completely empty…no…of course! The rocks! I can play defense!_ Instead of ducking as he usually did, Kirby inhaled the stones that Kabu sent at him.

Kirby jumped into the air and felt himself change again. Kirby turned a brownish color. A blue, gold-lined, samurai helmet formed above him. The helmet had a gold star on the front and a red ponytail coing out of the top. Kirby jumped up to the helmet and put it on. He had now become Stone Kirby.

Kabu stopped spinning and stared blankly at Kirby. "So…you truly are one of them…but…are you the one who will stop them? This is a question even I cannot answer."

Kirby looked confusedly at Kabu. "No part of what you just said made any sense to me…is the trial over now?"

Kabu didn't move, but Kirby could feel as if Kabu were chuckling sinisterly, though his monotone voice gave nothing away. "The trial ends when I am defeated. You have merely passed the first part of your test. You have obtained great protection…but you will find that powers sometimes have great disadvantages. Always be wary of this, for you still have much to learn. If you can overcome the weakness of stone while using its advantages, then you will see victory.

Kirby took it in, but still didn't understand it all. "Okay…then let's finish this!" Kirby charged at Kabu and transformed his entire body into a stone statue of himself. He slammed with great force into Kabu. The entire cave shook as Kirby's stone body impacted with Kabu's wooden one. Kirby fell to the ground. The wood that Kirby had struck broke off. However, Kirby soon realized that he had done little damage to Kabu himself. The fallen wood revealed Kabu's true protection: a golden medal.

Kabu did not budge. "You still have much to learn." Kabu spun much faster than before, and soon, the rest of Kabu's wooden shell came off. Kirby began to stand up and charge Kabu again. However, he quickly realized that his new bulk slowed him down immensely. He was moving about half as fast as he normally walked. Kabu took advantage of the situation. He leapt high into the air and crashed down on Kirby, causing Kirby to sink into the ground. Eventually, Kirby was completely below the cavern floor. Kabu was heavier than Kirby.

As Kabu leaped into the air to squish Kirby again, Kirby transformed back to his normal form (though still carrying the stone power) and jumped out of the hole just as Kabu crashed into the ground again. Kabu span around quickly facing Kirby. "You are learning…" Kabu span at Kirby and Kirby ran at Kabu. Just before Kabu's attack connected, Kirby jumped into the air and made a kicking motion as he turned into stone again. The impact knocked Kabu on his side. Kirby quickly turned back into his normal form and leaped into Kabu's mouth. The interior was completely empty save for a single clear, shiny stone. Kirby jumped above the crystal, turned into stone and smashed the crystal. A blinding light came after the crystals the destruction.

After a moment of silence, Kabu vanished, and Kirby fell out to the cavern floor. After a moment, the room began to reset its original form. The steps that had led to Kabu's resting place reformed. The torches rose out of the ground. Most importantly though, Kabu rematerialized back onto the platform he originally rested on, looking as if he had never been damaged. "You have done well Kirby. Come forth." Kirby approached Kabu and stood before the large statue. "I had promised you answers once you defeated me. I shall now tell you what you need to know. What do you truly desire to know? Consider this question carefully, for I will only answer it once."

Kirby thought for a few moments. _What do I want to know…I suppose I could ask him about Meta Knight…but I only have one question…I guess…I should ask him about me…why did Meta Knight choose me…why do I have these powers…I know what I'll ask him._ "Kabu…what am I?"

"You have chosen your question…I know much…but not all…certain secrets are kept even from me. What you are I do not know completely. However, who you are I can tell you. You are Kirby of the Stars. You are a Star Warrior, a member of a group of soldiers who hold mystical powers far beyond those of most others. They banded together to fight the ferocious demon known as Nightmare in days of old. You are one of these warriors."

Kirby couldn't believe what he was hearing. "…But that's all just legend. And, besides, just because I may share blood with a star warrior, doesn't just make me one."

"The Star Warriors still defend those who seek peace and defeat those who seek destruction. There is not much time left. Soon…events will unfold that only the Star Warriors can hope to hold back. And in the end…only the Warrior of the Stars can stop it…you are that warrior, Kirby. When the time comes, you will hold the fate of all in your hands. You will either protect the denizens of this universe…or you will destroy them. You will either free them from darkness…or you will enslave them in darkness."

Kirby sat on the ground. It was too much. _I'm no warrior…what am I saying…ever since I've gotten the Warp Star…that's all I've been. Meta Knight…you knew about this…what do you know Meta Knight?_

"One more thing…" A platform rose in front of Kirby. On it was a blue star. "Take the Sparkling Star and return it to its resting place. The final two are in the possession of your king. Yes, two. Dedede had left one behind accidentally; however, his minions have retrieved it. You must take them back soon, for you have only a short time left. I have opened a passage that will lead you to the other side of the island. Now go Star Warrior, go and save Dreamland, save Popstar…save us all."

* * *

Meta Knight walked out of the cave and rested against the mountain side. He took out a transmitter and activated it. A holographic form of Masher appeared. "Meta Knight. We've just had some extreme weather conditions and tremors…sir…please tell me that's not why you're contacting me…" 

Meta Knight solemnly nodded. "We need to control it. Get the containment equipment and bring the rest of the crew to the Fountain of Dreams…time is of the essence." Meta Knight changed the frequency of the device and Meta-Droid's form appeared. "Meta-Droid. Activate your cloak, head for Castle Dedede and keep close surveillance on that place. Don't do anything else unless I tell you."

_Meta Knight_. Meta Knight heard the voice just as he deactivated the communications device. _It is as you thought…the child is the chosen one._

"Very well…where is he?"

_He has gone to the other side of the island…there he will face a new challenge. It is as you wish, correct?_

"Yes…thank you Kabu. This next test will show us…if Kirby truly is ready."

* * *

Escargoon and Capsule J arrived to Castle Dedede about an hour before sunrise. The sky was a dull grey color, a signal that morning was not far off. Escargoon had his hands on the Sparkling Star, but the power in it seemed to have a need to burst. It was as if there was a power in this Sparkling Star that dwarfed all the others. Escargoon and Capsule J walked into the throne room. Dedede was snoozing at the time, Waddle Dee collapsed under the palm frond he had been holding. Escargoon looked at Capsule J. I'm not waking him up." 

Capsule J sighed, took his gun out of its sheath and fired a blast into the air, making a loud enough noise to wake Dedede and Waddle Dee. They both sat up startled. Dedede jumped so hard that he rolled out of his throne and landed on Escargoon. "Oh the pain! Please your highness! Your…presence is too much for me to handle…Ack!"

Completely unaware, Dedede jumped up, standing on Escargoon. "Capsule J, I need my here beauty sleep, I can't have my minions comin' into my throne room place where I dun' sometimes choose to soonze at, ya know?"

"…Not really, Sire, no…but the doctor and I do have some rather good news for you."

"'Bout time…where's Escargoon at anyways?"

"OH DEAR LORD, JUST KILL ME NOW!" Dedede looked down and saw the…exasperated snail flailing about underneath him.

Dedede walked off him then proceeded to bonk him with his hammer. "Escargoon, ya idiot. Next time someone's standin' like that on you, you tell 'em!"

"…Yes…Sire…" Escargoon said, still on the floor.

Capsule J shook his head. "Sire, we have retrieved the final Sparkling Star. In addition…we found a spy. I've used maximum stun to keep her out cold for as long as possible. We have taken away her weapon and are locking her in a maximum security cell. I shall interrogate her once she regains consciousness."

"Good work Capsule J. Now all that's left is to get those other three Sparkling Stars!"

Capsule J nodded. "Of course sir." Capsule J took out his walkie talkie and activated it. "Status on Kaboola repairs."

"We're testing the last pieces of equipment. We'll be ready to take off within the hour. The damage was not as extensive as we first thought. In addition sir, we've received an S.O.S. from Sir Kibble. They've run aground, and are stranded. They've sent us their coordinates."

"Alright, prepare to take off as soon as final repairs are complete. I will be there within minutes. My king, I must go and ensure that we receive the Sparkling Star. I take my leave, your majesty."

After Capsule J left the room, Dedede lifted Escargoon off the floor by his eyes. "Escargoon, the morning broadcast starts soon. Me and Waddle Doo came up with a plan for it. In case Sir Kibble and Capsule J fail in gettin' Kirby's Sparkling Star, were gonna have a news broadcast showing Kirby to be a terrorist and enemy of the…county or somethin'. It's also the perfect way ta advertise my new Triple D Bodywash!"

"Sire, the last time you tried to sell that, we went in debt over 10,000,000 Deden!'

"Yeah but I got it figured out this time. It's all written out in this fail proof four part plan!" Dedede handed a piece of paper to Escargoon. The handwriting was terrible but Escargoon could make it out:

"1. Find ways to cut costs, even if it lowers quality.

2. Advertise your product on the only tv station in the country which you control.

3. Sire...there are a bunch of question marks here...

4. Profit?"

Escargoon sighed. _It's going to be a long day…_

* * *

Kirby finally walked out of the cave, the third Sparkling Star in hand, or more precisely, mouth. The sun had just risen over Orange Ocean, giving the sky a soft pinkish color. A few clouds received a golden tint because of this. It was a nice contrast to the dark blue of the damp cavern he had spent the entire night in. Kirby breathed deeply as he began to make the trek back to the other side of the island. 

As Kirby walked away from the cave. Sir Kibble reached the top of the cave. He caught eye of Kirby just as he was about to disappear behind the side of the cave entrance. "Halt there!" Kirby turned around to see Sir Kibble approach.

Kirby knew who he was. Sir Kibble, head of palace security. One of the most feared warriors in all of Dreamland. But Sir Kibble was also an honorable man and a reasonable one. Kirby hoped that he could reason with him. "Sir Kibble…you don't need to do this."

Sir Kibble spoke, showing no hint of emotion. He was set on what he was ready to do. "For the past few days Kirby, you have mystified me. You are little older than a mere child…you have never shown any sign of strength before…and yet…you now posses a strength as great as any in Dreamland. Aside from the fact that you are the enemy of my king, I have longed to see what you are capable of in combat. No stalling, Kirby. No more talk. We fight now." Sir Kibble pulled out a scimitar.

Kirby got into a fighting stance. He wasn't going to take Sir Kibble lightly. He was dangerous, easily the most dangerous foe he had faced yet. Sir Kibble lunged forward. Kirby jumped out of the way and spat out the Warp Star. Kirby jumped on it and flew high above Sir Kibble. He then began to descend toward him at a rapid pace. After gaining massive speed, Kirby decided to try a new move with the Warp Star. Kirby jumped off it, the Warp Star still flying slightly ahead and kicked it toward Sir Kibble. Sir Kibble dodged the star as it hit the ground. However, the Warp Star's impact with the side of the cliff caused it to break off the rest of the island. Both Kirby and Sir Kibble tried to get back onto stable land, but the land mass fell with both of them, breaking in midair. Sir Kibble grabbed onto a piece of debris and clung on, until the last second, when he jumped onto a larger portion of what was left of his ship. Kirby grabbed onto the Warp Star before he hit the ground, but a medium sized rock hit him in the head knocking him of the Warp Star into the water. Kirby surfaced and was nearly hit by a cannonball. He looked over to see the intact turrets, known as Shotzos, of the wrecked ship all pointed in his general direction. The Warp Star quickly swept him up before the next volley of cannon fire could connect with him. Sir Kibble was quick though, the cannons began to fire into the air almost immediately. They weren't leaving an opening for Kirby at all. _Wait…why am I fighting him. I could easily get away now and still have all three Sparkling-_Kirby's thoughts were interrupted by a direct hit from the cannons. The pain and heat were intense as Kirby was knocked off the Warp Star and crashed onto the boat. Kirby's mouth opened and the Sparkling Stars fell out.

Sir Kibble quickly leaped over to Kirby and knocked him aside as he took the Sparkling Stars. Kirby stood up weakly. "No…" Kirby fell back down, too weak to fight on. That was it. He couldn't do anything else. Dedede had won. All five Sparkling Stars would be in Dedede's hands and Popstar would be doomed.

Suddenly, a Maxim Tomato fell to Kirby's side. Kirby looked at the tomato then looked up to see Meta Knight standing at the cliff edge. Kirby took the tomato and ate it. Kirby stood up, revitalized. Sir Kibble turned around to see Kirby, full of resolve. "Sir Kibble. I was recently told a lot of things that I didn't know. One of those is that someday, something I do is going to affect everyone else for better or for worse. I won't let today be the day when everyone suffers because of me…Sir Kibble, you may be the mightiest knight in Dreamland, but I am Kirby of the Stars! I fight to defend those to weak to defend themselves. I fight against those who would put their own schemes and greed before the well being of others. I fight against those who would release darkness on the world. Sir Kibble, you fight a Star Warrior now!"

If you could see his face you would see a hint of surprise on Sir Kibble's face. "A…Star Warrior…this is quite a surprise. Kirby, the Star Warriors are renowned as the saviors of our universe in legends of old. As a child, I had always wished to be a Star Warrior. It is what led me to become the man I am today. If you truly are a Star Warrior…it is an honor to meet you."

Kirby didn't really no how to react. "Well…I guess, thank you…so does this mean I can have the Sparkling Stars back now?"

"…No," said Sir Kibble. "You misjudge your enemy Kirby. We are not evil, not even his majesty. He may not be very intelligent, and he may be self-centered, but he does not wish ill on the people of Dreamland."

Kirby shook his head. "Dedede has shown nothing but contempt for those who would try and protect Popstar. He's misguided, but that doesn't change the fact that he would be dangerous with the power of the Sparkling Stars…I can see that we won't get anywhere with talk. Sir Kibble, you and I will battle here. The winner takes the Sparkling Stars. Agreed?"

Sir Kibble nodded and pulled out his scimitar. "Let us do battle...Star Warrior."

To be Continued

Review please. I personally think this is one of my better chapters, and I'd like to know what all y'all think about it, ya know? kthnxbai


	22. In the Air on Land and Sea

I would like to just take a moment to apologize to all of you not updating for so long. I just haven't dedicated enough time to this project and it just got easier to ignore it after each week. However, this is somthing that I want to continue and see through.

I would like to thank those who have been reading my story, whether you reviewed it or not (especially my reviewers though), I appreciate you all. I hope you will continue to read. I will do my best to update. However, I won't make any empty promises that I may not be able to keep. I will try harder though.

Okay. With that out of the way, I do believe that it would be appropriate to give a small recap, seeing as though it has been half a year since I updated.

Kirby had beaten Kabu, thus receiving the third Sparkling Star and Kabu's message that Kirby is the one who will save everybody. After leaving the cavern, Kirby and Sir Kibble meet and begin to do battle. They end up falling to the wreckage of Sir Kibble's ship and prepare to fight again. Meanwhile. Escargoon has taken the final Sparkling Star, the Star of Sealing, and has captured Trila. Now Capsule J takes Kaboola to go and pick up Sir Kibble and his crew. I believe that that is everything so...

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 21

In the Air on Land and Sea

Kirby leaped onto the Warp Star and began to circle Sir Kibble. "Soldiers, do not interfere with our battle," Sir Kibble said as he simply watched Kirby. "Your ability of flight would seem to give you an advantage…however, you must underestimate my own resourcefulness…take my scimitar for example. Normally a sword such as this would serve me little use against one so far away as yourself. However…" Sir Kibble swung the scimitar in a diagonal fashion toward Kirby. The blade separated itself and began to spin toward Kirby. Kirby had just enough time to tumble off the warp star as the blade flew over the Warp Star. Kirby plopped onto one of the wooden planks. He got quickly back up ready for Sir Kibble's next move. Sir Kibble stayed in the same place and caught scimitar blade. "You'll find that underestimating your opponent will lead you to defeat."

Kirby began to inhale. Sir Kibble stuck his sword into the ship and held on as Kirby attempted to inhale him. However, Sir Kibble, keeping a tight grip on his sword, was unaffected by Kirby's attack. After about thirty seconds, Kirby grew tired and stopped inhaling. Sir Kibble pulled the sword out of the ground. "As I suspected…Kirby, I have spent the last few days studying your remarkable powers. To think, you seem to have the ability to adapt to any situation. Such abilities seemed unstoppable…until I realized that you may have had a weakness. If you cannot gain my powers…you cannot adapt. And if you cannot adapt, victory is already mine. So Kirby, can you adapt?" Sir Kibble quickly pulled his sword out and lunged at Kirby. Kirby sidestepped, losing his balance and falling into the water.

Sir Kibble studied the water for a few seconds. _Lost him…_ Kirby jumped up from behind Sir Kibble and tackled him. Sir Kibble was knocked over, losing grip of his sword. Kirby swallowed the sword. Kirby jumped up. A golden winged cap landed on his head. A silver scimitar blade glided back and forth at Kirby as he barely dodged each swipe. The blade then hit his helmet connecting to it. He had become Cutter Kirby.

Sir Kibble stood up. "…Well played my friend. It would appear that you have the advantage…let's see if you can keep it." Sir Kibble pulled the blade off from his helmet. "Come at me, Star Warrior!"

Kirby threw his blade at Sir Kibble, who deflected it with ease. The blade still came back to Kirby who caught it masterfully just in time to block a slash from Sir Kibble. Sir Kibble back flipped, and threw his blade at Kirby. Kirby jumped over the blade and it stuck to the ground. Kirby picked up the blade. "Looks like you're defenseless now Sir Kibble. Do you surrender?"

Sir Kibble seemed to smirk. "Masterfully done, Kirby. You give the Star Warriors a good name. However, my king has charged me with the task of recovering the Sparkling Stars." Sir Kibble spread his arms as two sharp boomerang-like blades came out from his armor. They were attatched to his armor by metal hords. "…And I intend to do everything in my power to do this." Sir Kibble threw the two blades at Kirby. Kirby successfully dodged and the two blades stuck to a piece of the floating debris. Kirby looked back, saw the blades were stuck and rushed toward Sir Kibble. Sir Kibble pulled the cords forcefully causing the blades to retract towards him with the debris. Kirby saw the plank just before getting hit it. Sir Kibble forced the plank down, keeping Kirby underneath it.

"Hmm…I suppose that even a Star Warrior can be beaten though. Perhaps your grand speech earlier were just words that held little meaning. Kirby, if you mean what you said…then show me." Sir Kibble harshly tugged the cords causing the debris to fling off Kirby and toward him. He forcefully kicked the debris, sending it back at Kirby just as he got up, knocking him over again. "Show me!" Kirby weakly got up, then looking directly at Sir Kibble, he tossed away one of his blades. The other blade shone as Kirby jumped high into the air. After front flipping, he hit the ground with such a huge force that the shockwave split the large plank they were standing on into five separate pieces. Sir Kibble lost his balance, nearly tipping into the water. As he regained his balance, his arm was slashed by Kirby's blade. Sir Kibble grasped it in pain. "Grah!" Sir Kibble looked up at Kirby and chuckled. "Well-played, Kirby…however, it would seem that our time is up."

Kirby looked behind him and saw the same zeppelin from the other night. A ladder was let down and as the rest of the ships crew climbed upon it Sir Kibble handed Kirby one of the Sparkling Stars. "If you want the other two…well, I'm sure you know what you have to do." Sir Kibble grabbed the ladder and the zeppelin flew away from the wreckage.

The Warp Star flew beside Kirby. _Does he really expect me to take on that?_ Kirby sat down to rest from the last battle for about a minute. Then he jumped onto the Warp Star and headed off toward the zeppelin.

* * *

Sir Kibble walked onto the main bridge of Kaboola where Capsule J was waiting. The two saluted and Capsule J then asked, "Was the mission successful?" 

"Nearly. We now have all but one Sparkling Star. Kirby managed to take the other one."

"Why didn't you get it back before coming on board?"

"…Had I stayed, captain, Kirby would have all three of the Sparkling Stars. It is of little consequence. We can always find him later and take the last one."

Capsule J nodded as an alarm went off. One of the crew members turned from his monitor. "Captain! We have an unidentified object approaching fast! It appears to be…sir, it's Kirby!"

Capsule J turned to Sir Kibble. "It would appear that our opportunity to take the final Star has come. You've done well Sir Kibble, you should get that arm looked at."

"I'll be fine. I'd much rather watch the battle from here."

"Suit yourself." Capsule J sat in his command chair pressing several buttons. "Full about! All hands, battle stations. Activate all ship gatling guns. Ready the main cannons. Bring full tactical units online. I don't want him to survive one pass at us. Sir Kibble, no matter how powerful this Kirby is, he can't withstand the full force of the airship Kaboola."

Sir Kibble just stood there. "We shall soon see, captain."

* * *

Kirby was quickly catching up with Kaboola. _If I can get inside quickly enough, than I'll be able to get the Sparkling Stars without having to deal with…scratch that idea._ Kirby watched as the massive airship sharply turned until it faced Kirby directly. Two large cannons came out from panels on the side of the balloon. Several other smaller panels opened, revealing dozens of machine guns. Kirby gaped at the dreadnaught that flew before him. Seconds later, the two large cannons fired. The shells were easily ten times bigger than Kirby. He was able to dodge them as they rocketed past. Kirby then realized that he was nearly under the ship. The machine guns fired. Hundreds of tiny bullets hit the Warp Star, which Kirby was now underneath.

* * *

"Impossible! How can that flying star take so many hits?" Capsule J pronounced in frustration. 

"You're underestimating him. Don't," said Sir Kibble.

"What do you suggest then, Sir Kibble?"

"Seeking weaponry might do the job…on the other hand. Kirby's adaptive powers make any form of attack risky. I really have no suggestions."

"Sir!" said a tactical officer. "One of our cannon shells hit Kirby's star. Kirby was knocked off of it. If we can keep Kirby separated from the star, he should be immobilized."

"Excellent…engines at full power. We're gonna ram him. Full speed ahead."

**

* * *

**Kirby grabbed back onto the Warp Star. _Geez, this is ridiculous!_ Kirby looked to see Kaboola approaching, very quickly. Kirby turned tail and headed away from it, but since Kirby was also dodging gun fire, Kaboola caught up with Kirby and knocked him off of the Warp Star. Kirby landed on Kaboola's balloon. He tried to hang on, but the blimp's speed sent him further toward the back. Kirby was sent flying from the back of Kaboola and began to plummet toward the ground. Kirby's freefall was ended as Meta Knight swooped over him, grabbing him. "Meta Knight!" 

"You must get the Sparkling Stars. Here." Meta Knight handed Kirby the Warp Star. He then flew off, drawing fire from the machine guns.

* * *

"Let that one go, Kirby is our target." Capsule J said. "This isn't working out very well…" 

"You did nearly defeat him. Yet Kirby seems to have a way of snatching victory at the last minute."

Capule J growled lowly. "…Activate missile launchers. Lock onto Kirby."

"We have him locked captain. Missile's prepped and ready to fire."

"Fire!"

* * *

Kirby heard several loud booms. He turned to see about half a dozen rockets stream toward him. Kirby quickly flew away from Kaboola to avoid its other weapons. The rockets were slowly gaining on him. Kirby flew straight down in an attempt to lose them. They followed him down. Kirby was coming down to the water quickly and at the last second leveled out. Two of the missiles hit the water, but the others leveled out with him. _Four left…now what?_ Two more cannon shells hit the water barely missing Kirby. The force knocked Kirby off the Warp Star and into the water. The missiles flew over him and began to loop around to hit him again. Kirby quickly jumped back onto the Warp Star, and got out of the way from the missiles seconds before two others hit the water. 

Kaboola suddenly flew right over Kirby, coming down, starting to force Kirby down to the water. Kirby stopped suddenly letting Kaboola pass over him. Kirby turned seeing one of the last two rockets coming at him. Kirby inhaled the missile. Kirby jumped up. Smoke came out of Kirby's feet and then launched him causing Kirby to fly erratically, his head hit a red metal cap stopping him. He had become Missile Kirby.

The final missile was coming up quickly. Kirby jumped off the Warp Star. The cap glowed as Kirby transformed into a missile. Kirby rammed right into the other missile causing a large explosion.

* * *

"Sir, we have confirmed a direct hit," stated one of the tactical officers. 

Capsule J turned to Sir Kibble and seemed to smirk. "Let's find whatever's left of him and get the Sparkling Star."

"Sir! We have a contact approaching fast. Inbound missile sir!"

"What? Destroy it, quickly! All weapons fire!"

The missile was quickly destroyed in a large explosion. "Lieutenant, I want to know where that missile-"

"Sir! It's back, and it's still coming toward us!"

"It's Kirby," stated Sir Kibble. "He's used his powers to become a missile."

"You've got to be kidding. Use whatever is necessary to bring him down! Fire more missiles! Now!"

"Firing sir!" The missiles hit Kirby again and again. However, regardless of what hit him, it only seemed to slow down the inevitable. Kirby would continuously transform into a missile each time he got hit. Kirby finally hit the balloon of the blimp.

"Sir, we've been hit!"

Capsule J turned to Sir Kibble. "What can we do?"

Sir Kibble stood in silence for a second stunned at Kirby's power. "…Nothing. Kirby is too powerful." The ship was rocked again by another hit from Kirby. "There is no way that we can defeat Kirby now."

"Sir, we've lost weapon control!" The ship was hit much harder again. "Sir! we're losing altitude! Engines are not responding!"

"We must evacuate," stated Sir Kibble.

Capsule J nodded. "All crew, evacuate Kaboola immediately. Pilot, are we near the mainland?"

Yes sir, we are right above the shore right now. Are rate of decline is increasing, sir."

"Alright. Sir Kibble, do you have the Sparkling Stars?"

"Yes. We must leave." Capsule J and Sir Kibble were the last off the bridge.

* * *

Kirby returned to normal, seeing that Kaboola was now plummeting to the ground. Kirby noticed the ships crew jumping ship. He flew off in that direction, hoping to find Sir Kibble and the Sparkling Stars. Kirby spotted Capsule J carrying Sir Kibble as the two swiftly flew toward Castle Dedede. Kirby trailed them. Capsule J turned to see Kirby, unsheathed his laser gun, and began to fire erratically at Kirby. However, the burden of Sir Kibble made his aim less than accurate, so Kirby was easily able to dodge. Kirby quickly overtook Capsule J and crashed into him, causing the three to slam into the ground. Capsule J was knocked out cold. Sir Kibble and Kirby both stood up. Then Sir Kibble collapsed. Kirby ran over too him. Sir Kibble slowly got up again. "Well Kirby…I'd say that…you've beaten us…here." Sir Kibble took out the two Sparkling Stars and handed them to Kirby. "Your abilities are…extraordinary…I see that opposing you any further would be pointless. Well done Star Warrior…the king has the other Sparkling Star." 

"You are almost correct," Meta Knight revealed himself. "Kirby, you must give me your three Sparkling Stars, I must take them back to the fountain immediately. The king has removed the final Sparkling Star. Your planet is now in immediate danger. By putting these back, I can hold back any cataclysm for a while. But if you do not return the other two Sparkling Stars…Popstar will be doomed."

Kirby nodded. "Then I'll head to the castle and get them." He jumped onto the Warp Star and quickly flew off.

Sir Kibble turned to Meta Knight. "…Just who are you that you know so much about Dreamland? These things you say are only known by those who've studied ancient Popstar mythology."

"And I have done so. I am, however, merely an intergalactic mercenary. I arrived on this planet by chance. That is all."

Sir Kibble nodded. "Hmm…there is obviously more to you than that…that is your business however. I will take my leave for Castle Dedede. Regardless of what you have said. I am still in the service of his majesty. And I will stay loyal to him." Meta Knight turned and walked away from him.

To be Continued

I hope that I haven't lost too much of my touch. Review please! And I hope to update soon!


	23. Desperate Measures

Well, new chapter! Hopefully I can keep this up...though I wouldn't count on too much this week as I have two eight page papers to deal with. No I did not procrastinate...I just didn't really want to work on them...--

Afterwards though, I hopefully, will be able to keep myself up with this!

As always, Shining Riku, thanks alot for your review! And to everyone else, please review! It's a great motivator when you do that, even if it is to say that you liked it...or if you really had a problem with something (after all, I won't get any better with no criticism)...not to say you have to go out of your way to find something...Anyways...

Dislai-ya'know, I do this disclaimer thing everychapter and I'll bet that not one of you guys read it...well, fine...all characters and locations in this chapter are owned by Nintendo. On with the story

Chapter 22

Desparate Measures

"Welcome to Channel DDD! Your number one source for news and entertainment… because in the end, you've really got no choice." The familiar logo of Dreamlands only TV station, Castle Dedede with three Ds below it flashed across the screen. The picture went to Escargoon and Waddle Doo sitting in a newsroom.

"Good morning Dreamland. I'm Dr. Escargoon."

"And I am Waddle Doo."

"And we have a very important announcement to make today," said Escargoon. "Recently a citizen of Dreamland who goes by the name of Kirby, has threatened Dreamland's very way of life. Kirby has stolen the sacred Sparkling Stars from the Fountain of Dreams threatening the very stability of our planet. He has wrecked havoc open the Whispy Woods, brought down several large structures, and because of his actions, the planet is beginning to tear apart. Kirby must be stopped."

"Indeed Doctor. His Royal Majesty King Dedede is on standby to give a challenge to Kirby."

The picture of the TV went to Dedede standing in the middle of his throne room. "This here is a official challenge on behalf of all Dreamland. Kirby, you may think you're tough, but I will defensicate this land at all opportunity costs! I challenge you to battle here at this here castle. When you're ready to take a pummelin' let me know. I fight for the glorification of Dreamland. Everyone is bein' invited to the showdown, and if you buy your tickets within the next hour for a mere 1000 Deden, we'll throw in a Platinitum Triple D Hygenetics Kit for a additional 9000 Deden. A 10,000 Deden value for only 9000 Deden. Order now!"

"Good Lord, why do we let him write his own speeches?" Escargoon said without noticing that the camera was back on him. "Uh…I mean…glory to King Dedede, the…Hero of Dreamland! We'll be right back after this commercial-"

"Doctor Escargoon we have an urgent situation. Kirby has successfully taken three of the Sparkling Stars," Sir Kibble said over the intercom letting every single person watching in on the mishap.

"Kibble! We're still in the middle…go to commercial idiots!"

"This program has been made possible by the Dedede Broadcasting Foundation and by the generous support from taxpayers like you."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Escargoon, Waddle Doo, and King Dedede were in the throne room trying to figure out their next phase. Sir Kibble and Capsule J were there via satellite. Waddle Dee was sandpapering Dedede's hammer. 

"So let me get this here thing straight Sir Kibble. You tellin' me that Kirby completely decimicated Kaboola and that he'll be hear in a few hours? Am I hearin' this right?" said Dedede.

"Yes, Sire," Sir Kibble said. He still held his arm which had been more injured from the crash. "We have been severely underestimating Kirby's power. I must say that defeating him may not be possible. We know that his power level is at least that of Kaboola's…I do not know if there is a limit to his power."

"So, you think we should just give up and throw in the towel then?" asked Escargoon, secretly hoping that they could do just that.

"We can't do that. We still have those alien invaders to worry about," said Waddle Doo. "Speaking of which, Doctor, how is your Sparkling Star weapon coming?"

"Oh right. After Waddle Doo explained the situation to me, I began to study the Sparkling Star to find a use for it..."

"And?" said Dedede.

"I've had it for only a few hours! I don't even know what purpose it served, or how to harness the power inside it? I need more time…and we don't have it."

"Wait!" said Waddle Doo. "Doctor, do you need both Sparkling Stars?"

"No, just the last one we took…why?"

"Sire, I just had an idea…we gotta distract Kirby long enough to let the Doctor make a weapon right?"

"Yeah, so?" said Dedede.

Waddle Doo seemed to get excited over the genius of his idea. "We gotta draw Kirby away from the castle by using one of the Sparkling Stars. That way, we'll by ourselves extra time to get ready for Kirby's attack."

"Won't we just be handing another Sparkling Star to Kirby then?" asked Capsule J.

"I see what you are planning Waddle Doo," said Sir Kibble. "However, if we want to buy a lot of time, we must plan exactly where we take the Star…and how we will defend it. Do you have any ideas?"

Waddle Doo gave a low sinister laugh. "I think I got the perfect place in mind. Sire, I'm going to take the Sparkling Star to Grape Garden."

Waddle Dee nearly tripped over himself when he heard that. "Sorry…but uh, Cuz, you aren't…taking the Star to who I think you're taking it our you?"

Waddle Doo's eye squinted slightly. "That's right, Cuz. Besides, he owes me a favor…and if anyone can deal with Kirby…he can."

* * *

Meta Knight had arrived at the Fountain of Dreams. Thing's were worse than he thought. The entire fountain seemed to be shifting in and out of their dimension. The sky was still a sickly green. Thunder hit the ground every once in a while. Small tremors came in and out very quickly. It was strange, because if you weren't actually within the grounds of the Fountain of Dreams, it would have been completely unnoticeable. Meta Knight's crew was all there, aside from Trila. Sword and Blade were at a booth full of complicated equipment connected to Meta-Droid. Butch and Masher were working at another station which was monitoring the Fountain's activity. When Masher saw Meta Knight approach, he left the station to greet him. "Greetings, Sir Meta Knight." 

"…What's the situation Masher?"

"…Disastrous. We can contain it for at best two days."

"You'll have the Stars back before the end of today," said Meta Knight.

"It's not that simple anymore, Meta Knight," said Butch, carrying a readout. "Energy levels in the Fountain just spiked again. At this point, the Sparkling Stars will not be enough to contain it. Even if we replace all the Sparkling Stars, we can buy ourselves…a year at most. After that, well, I don't need to tell you what's going to happen, do I," Butch said, trying to hide his anger. "Sir…if I may ask, why didn't you stop them from taking the Stars in the first place."

"You know why Butch."

"…I suppose I do. You've taken a big risk. I hope it pays off for you in the end, because if it doesn't. We're all finished." Butch walked away.

Masher sighed. "Sorry old friend. You know how Butch is."

Meta Knight nodded. "Yes. Butch is a good soldier and after what he's been through, I can understand why he is so bitter."

"Yes…regardless he is right…at this point the only way to contain it is to cut off the Fountain's power."

"That is not yet an option, Masher. We must realize that if we do that, dreams will be cut off from our dimension. That could have a disastrous effect on this planet, and all others."

"I know that Meta Knight…but at this point, it is only a matter of time when we cut the Fountain's power…not if."

"Yes…of course. Masher, after the Sparkling Stars are returned. We will set up near the Fountain. When cutting the power is our last option…I will see to it," said Meta Knight.

"Yes sir…" said Masher, understanding the inner struggle that his friend was going through.

To be Continued

Hope you liked it! Anyways, review and have a great day everyone!


	24. Reunion

Hello everyone. I have just finished my finals in college, so I finally have some free time. Yay! Thank you to Shining Riku and Xanxi for reviewing! By the way, check out my profile page for a poll. I won't say much about it but it will have relevance to my saga eventually. So please vote on it.

Anyways, I should be able to update more often for the next couple of weeks (knock on wood). We'll just see how it goes. So read on and please review! By the way, a personal favorite enters the picture in this chapter. :)

Disclaimer...Nintendo owns everything, including your substitute math teacher. That's why he's playing DS instead of actually paying attention to what you kids are doing...or something. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 23

Reunion

Waddle Doo was just entering the airdock when his cousin caught up with him."Hey, Doo! Wait up." Waddle Dee yelled, still unhappy about Waddle Doo's plan. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Waddle Doo shook his head. "Of course it ain't a good idea! That doesn't mean I have any other choice. We need to distract Kirby, so I'm taking it to the one person who will at the very least stall him for a long time!"

"You sure seemed confident during the meeting…"

"…That…was just an act…" Waddle Doo said rather solemnly. "You're not in an important position Dee, so you probably wouldn't know that a lot of the things I do before our majesty are just for show…now get out 'a here and go find somethin' to do. We ain't payin' you to just sit around and ask questions."

Waddle Dee nodded. "…by the way Doo, some of the other servants said that we captured one of the aliens…did we?"

Waddle Doo nodded."Yeah…'parrently Capsule J got her when she ambushed the Doc. We're holding her prisoner right now…for that matter, go make sure someone's bringing her food.

Waddle Dee sighed. "Alright…be careful cousin."

"…" Waddle Doo got into a small helicopter-like aircraft and flew out of the hanger.

_I'm glad that you're still a good person at heart cousin…now, to see the prisoner._

* * *

Kirby was headed for Castle Dedede at full speed. He could see Dream City in the distance. _Almost there!_ Suddenly Kirby was knocked off the Warp Star by an impact from behind. Kirby fell and hit the ground. Capsule J shot over him at an incredible speed. Kirby growled quietly. He jumped back onto the Warp Star and blasted off after Capsule J. 

Capsule J, who's jet suit was equipped with state of the art technology, could see Kirby coming at him via his radar mini-map. He back flipped and rocketed off toward Kirby. Kirby brought the Warp Star down just as Capsule J shot past him. He turned around and began to inhale, but Capsule J was out of site. Suddenly, Kirby was smashed downwards as Capsule J crashed into him, bringing the two of them down to the ground. Kirby groggily stood back up. Capsule J stood about twenty feet away, his jet pack sparking. Capsule J pressed a button on his arm, causing the jet pack to detach from his suit. He grabbed it and after spinning it around, tossed it at Kirby. He then got out his blaster and fired a shot at the pack, causing it to explode and blasting Kirby away from the Warp Star.

Capsule J quickly ran up to the Warp Star and grabbed it. He then began to run toward Dream City. Kirby was in too much pain to run after him.

Capsule J, activated his com link after reaching Dream City. "Waddle Doo, I have separated Kirby from his flying star. Make sure he sees the Sparkling Star when you fly over him."

"Got it," came Waddle Doo's response.

Capsule J then contacted Sir Kibble. "Sir Kibble, my mission was successful, do you need me to bring you back to Castle Dedede."

"No…" came Sir Kibble's response. "I'll make my way back there on my own."

"Alright." Capsule J deactivated his com link.

"Hey, that's not yours!" someone shouted behind Capsule J. He turned around to see Knuckle Joe and Poppy Jr. standing behind him.

"What business of it is yours?" said Capsule J.

"Well, ya see, the guy who owns that star, he's a friend of ours," said Knuckle Joe.

Capsule J pulled out his gun and pointed it at the duo. "Now, you two listen. I am under direct orders from His Royal Majesty. You will leave at once, if you don't I will be forced to-oomph."

Capsule J was knocked down, and out as Rocky jumped onto him. "I can't believe that you guys actually talked me into this..."

Poppy Jr. picked up the star. "Come on! We gotta find Kirby!"

* * *

Kirby slowly got up. He wasn't too far from Castle Dedede. He could still walk, it would just take longer. Kirby got back up and began his journey towards Castle Dedede. This journey came to a sudden end when Kirby saw Waddle Doo pass close by him in his aircraft, tauntingly showing Kirby the fourth Sparkling Star and flying off in the direction of Grape Garden. Kirby tried to run after the ship, but he knew he had no hope of catching him. _Grape Garden is so far…this is gonna take forever._

"Hey buddy, need a lift?" Kirby turned around to see Poppy Jr., Knuckle Joe, and Rocky standing behind him. Kirby also saw that Poppy Jr. was carrying the Warp Star.

"Guys!" Kirby exclaimed with glee. "You got it back. Thank you so much."

"No problem Kirb!" said Knuckle Joe.

"Kirb?" said Rocky.

"It's…a nickname, you know. It's like a sign of camaraderie."

"More like a sign of laziness," said Rocky disapprovingly. "Regardless, isn't it about time we 'stormed the castle' so to speak?"

Kirby nodded. "Yeah, I'll bet one of the Sparkling Stars is there…but there's another one over at Grape Garden…I need to get it."

"Well it's a good thing that there are four of us," said Poppy Jr. "I got an idea. Kirby and I will go to Grape Garden. Joe and Rocky will infiltrate Castle Dedede."

"The name is Knuckle Joe," said Knuckle Joe.

"I thought you liked nicknames," said Rocky condescendingly.

"Besides," said Joe, "How are you gonna keep up with Kirby anyways. He's got the Warp Star."

Poppy Jr. was about to say something then realized that what Joe had said was true.

"He'll just hold on really, really tightly," said Kirby.

"Yeah, I'll just…wait a minute!"

"Alright, it's decided. Joe and Rocky, go to Castle Dedede. Poppy and I will go to Grape Garden."

Poppy Jr. sighed. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea after all.

* * *

Waddle Dee brought a food tray into the room where Trila was being held. She was chained so that she couldn't move her feet, and could barely move her arms. Waddle Dee closed the cell door and handed her the tray. "Sorry if it's difficult. I can't loosen the binds" 

"Don't worry about it," said Trila. "…So, what are they doing with that last Sparkling Star?"

"The Doctor's trying to find a way to use it as a weapon."

"If he succeeds, he could create the most powerful weapon seen on this planet…it won't matter though. We're all doomed if the Sparkling Stars aren't replaced."

"You say that as if there's more than just Popstar on the line for this," said Dee.

She turned to him and gave a heavy sigh. "Kid…you have no idea."

* * *

Waddle Doo had finally reached his destination. Bubbly Clouds, on the far end of Grape Garden was home to an old…acquaintance of Waddle Doo's. The place was made entirely out of clouds. Yet, for some unexplained reason, these clouds were solid enough that one could stand on them. Waddle Doo walked into what appeared to be a throne room of sorts. Cloud pillars lined the sides. At the center was a solid room, open on three sides. There was a very wide pedestal in the middle and two stone pillars held the ceiling up. 

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph…" a muffled, deep, and growly laugh seemed to surround Waddle Doo. "Waddle Doo, my old compatriot, it's been a long time."

"T-t-t-too long boss," said Waddle Doo, who was scared out of his wits.

"So tell me friend, what brings you to Grape Garden after all these years."

"H-h-his royal majesty King D-d-d-dedede-"

"Dededededede? That's probably one of the saddest names I ever heard. Get on with it, Waddle Doo."

"King Dedede wishes to make a contract with you, sir."

"Does he got money?"

"Y-yes."

"And will he get me my money…on time?"

"A-a-absolutely! I swear to you, he will."

"Fine. But if I don't get my payment on time Waddle Doo, I'll have no choice but to whack you. Do you understand?"

"Y-y-yes."

"Alright then. Tell your king…" a large blue eye rose from the clouds. "that Kracko is at his service."

To be Continued

I'll say it now...Kracko is my favorite boss. I don't know why?...REVIEW!...please...


	25. The Sky Sea

Is it possible? Am I actually updating? Yes! I know...it's been forever! But this time, I won't have to worry. Why you ask? Because, I've finished writing the story. I'll be updating once a day until this fic is done.

Thanks for all the reviews in the meantime, and I hope you enjoy. The battle for the final two Sparkling Stars begins now. Enjoy!

Chapter 24

The Sky Sea

"I'm telling you, Sire. The Sparkling Star is extremely unstable. Using it as a power source for a weapon would be incredibly dangerous," said Escargoon, knowing that Dedede would not be happy at his findings.

"…So what you're sayin' Escargoon," said Dedede menacingly. "is that the Sparkling Star's are completely useless. You can't find one way to utalitarianize them?"

"…Not exactly…I think," said a slightly bewildered Escargoon. "We wouldn't be able to use the Star itself as a power source for a weapon. But if I could drain the star's power…then maybe..."

"Well, get back to the labortarian and get back to work!"

There was a loud boom and Waddle Dee ran into the room. "Sire, we're under attack!"

Dedede looked nearly mortified. "Is it Kirby?"

Dee shook his head. "No…but I think that they're some of his friends."

Dedede looked around. "Where are Capsule J and Sir Kibble?"

"They still haven't returned, Sire," said Dee.

Dedede growled. "Get all of our soldiers positionated to defend the Sparkling Star!"

* * *

Knuckle Joe delivered another blow to one of Dedede's guards as he and Rocky continued to fight there way through the castle. The fight was simple. The guards were no match for Joe's strength or Rocky's defense. "Jeez, these guys aren't even trying!"

Rocky sighed. "Don't lose focus already." He had just crashed into another soldier. Joe was right, this was way too easy. "They probably have most of their troops positioned around the Sparkling Star."

Joe smirked. "If they're no better than these guys, we'll be out of here in no time!" Joe knocked out another guard. "C'mon! The throne room's down this way!" Joe took off down the corner.

Rocky shook his head and continued to follow him. Joe entered the throne room, which was now deserted. "Nobody's here…now what?"

Rocky looked around. "Strange…where would they be keeping the Sparkling Star anyways?"

Joe punched the floor. "Man! Come on, let's keep looking!" They turned for the door, but as they approached, they met trouble.

"Cappies," Rocky growled. General Shroom stepped to the front and looked contemptibly upon them.

* * *

Poppy Bros. Jr. was holding onto Kirby for dear life whose feet seemed to be fused to the Warp Star. Needless to say, this didn't help Kirby's ability to see. On the other hand, there trip had been unhindered.

"Kirby, we're coming upon Grape Garden!" shouted Poppy Jr. Kirby "Mmphed" in response.

They soon passed over a snowy mountain range and came to a rather incredible sight. After the mountain range, the ground seemed to disappear. All that could be seen for miles was a sea of cloud. Mountains surrounded the entire area. "Wow…Kirby look at that! It's almost like you could walk onto them...is this where the Sparkling Star is?"

Kirby "mmphed" a bit more then tilted downwards to descend upon Grape Garden. From what he could see, Poppy was right, there was nothing but a huge layer of cloud. It was going to be difficult to find the Star in there. They landed on a mountain side on the edge of the cloudscape. Poppy Jr. let go as Kirby looked around, it all looked the same.

"So now what?" asked Poppy Jr.

"Don't know…it'd be really dangerous to try and climb down with these thick clouds, though…but flying through them blind could kill us, so we really don't have much choice. Let's just move very carefully." Kirby hopped off the Warp Star and walked to the edge of the cliff. The cloud seemed to almost be connected to the cliff, and Kirby couldn't see anything below it. "Well...uh…wha?" Kirby had grabbed the ledge to see if there was any solid ground below him, but instead found himself laying flat on the ground…_ground? These are clouds…_it was the strangest feeling. What his body was pressed against wasn't solid…but it was still holding him up.

"Uh…Kirby, what're you doing?" asked Poppy Jr.

"…I don't know…Poppy, does it look like I'm just lying on the clouds?"

Poppy tilted his head in confusion. "Well…kinda."

"…I'm going to let go of the edge then." Kirby took his hands off the rocky cliff but still stayed in the same place. Kirby pushed himself up. "Um…Poppy, I think that we can walk on these clouds."

Poppy slowly put a foot out onto the clouds and tripped from putting his foot down to fast. "…Wow…"

Kirby looked around. He still saw nothing but cloud around him. For what it was worth though, from where he was standing he couldn't really tell if the shapes in the distance were mere clouds or something more. Kirby brought out the Warp Star again. "We can cover more ground…cloud…whatever…this way. Come on."

"Great…" Poppy grabbed back onto Kirby and the two zoomed off through the vast expanse. "So...it doesn't look like there's much out here."

Kirby sighed. "No…wait…wait! Look! There's an opening!" They passed over a rather large hole in the surface of cloud. The Warp Star circled around and dropped into it and came to a sudden halt. Kirby looked around. Kirby couldn't see any ground, but he now saw building tops sticking out. The "solid" clouds were still all over the place, but they weren't as tightly packed as the ones above. Kirby also noticed that there were several more openings from the top looking almost golden-like in the daylight.

Kirby eyed each of the buildings and settled on an almost icy palace. "Let's start there."

"Why?" asked Poppy Jr.

"Cause it's the closest…this is gonna take awhile." Fortunately, the Warp Star ride was, at least, brief. Kirby and Poppy Jr. dropped to another solid cloud in front of the palace entrance. "Well, if they don't outright try to kill us, I guess we'll know that the Sparkling Star's not here, right Poppy?...Poppy?" Kirby turned to see Poppy Jr. However, Poppy Jr. was kind of…blueish…on the skin too and…not moving so much. He was frozen. Kirby looked around, but only saw the castle. He didn't see anybody, but there was no mistaking it, whoever was here was definitely an enemy.

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph…" came a deep, growly laugh that seemed to surround Kirby.

"Who are you!" Kirby demanded.

"So rude, didn't you like are little welcome?" said the voice mockingly.

"What did you do to him?" Kirby yelled.

"I ain't done nothing to him. My associate has put him on ice. Hmph hmph hmph hmph. Would you like to meet him?" Kirby was silent in his response but glowered furiously instead. "I'll take that as a yes. Sir Pengy, I gots another bloke to put in the freezer. If you can beat him kid, maybe he'll turn your friend back from a popsicle stick. In the unlikely case that you survive, head over that way to Bubbly Clouds. We'll…talk about your Sparkling Star then." The voice went silent afterwards.

Kirby looked around waiting for an attack. He quickly turned towards the castle as a short blue penguin with large white eyebrows a pelican-like beak waddled out the front gate. "So, you must be Kirby. That was our boss just there, by the way. Says that we've been hired by the ruler of Dreamland to knock off some guy playing hero…let's see how well you play." Pengy shot out a blast of ice, which Kirby easily dodged. "Not a complete fool…" Pengy shot several more blasts of ice. Kirby still easily dodged them. "Hmm…not just playing are you?"

"Stop wasting my time!" yelled Kirby. "You're right! I'm not playing around! This is serious!

"…So it is. Very well, let's fight seriously." Pengy huffed up and then exhaled a huge stream of ice. Kirby got hit and was sent flying. He slowly got up, shivering. "You…you're still standing? Nobody's ever gotten up after that…You're stubborn, I'll give you that."

Kirby had had enough. He jumped up and rushed Pengy. Pengy sidestepped Kirby as he tried to tackle him. He then hit Kirby with another stream of ice. Kirby could feel his body temperature dropping from the icy breath. Ice began to form on Kirby's back. _I can't…I…I…_Kirby was losing conscious thought. It was too cold. His body was beginning to shut down. There was only one thing left for him to do. He struggled with all his might, turned around, and opened his mouth. It was over in moments. Kirby was a solid block of ice.

* * *

Waddle Doo and Kracko watched the battle from a distance. "So much for Kirby…" said Waddle Doo.

Kracko laughed. "Hmph hmph hmph. He certainly wasn't as tough as you made him out to be. Now onto business. Waddle Doo, we agreed on two million Deden within the week, correct?"

Waddle Doo nodded vacantly. "Yeah…"

Kracko eyed his fellow cyclops oddly. "What's wrong with you my old compatriot?"

Doo's eye slightly narrowed. "It's…not over…"

Kracko laughed again. "As sure as I'm floating here, Doo, the guys a snow cone. What makes you so sure it ain't over?"

Doo's focus on Kirby's frozen body was unwavering. "The kids got more power in him than anything I've ever seen. I don't know what he is, but he's a lot more dangerous than he looks."

"From where I'm standing, he don't look like he's gonna be a danger to anybody for a while…what the?"

As Kracko finished his last statement, Kirby shattered through the ice and leapt high into the air. Kirby began to shiver as his body turned a shade of blue. Ice shards suddenly shot out from his head. A golden band formed around his head, and a six pointed crystallized star rested on the front. He had become Ice Kirby.

Kracko's pupil seemed to shrink. "What the heck was that?"

Doo's eye widened. "That's Kirby's power. He can take powers from those he fights and use them against them. He brought down one of our airships by doing this…"

"…we're going back to Bubbly Clouds." Kracko flew away from the battle.

"…right boss…" Waddle Doo moved away then looked back. "Who is this guy?"

* * *

Kirby faced off with Pengy who stopped attacking after Kirby transformed. "…How…interesting…" Pengy shot out a blast of ice. Kirby stood there and just as it was about to hit him, he opened his mouth and swallowed the ice. "Eh?" said Pengy confusedly.

Kirby spat out the ice and it plopped onto the ground, now a single block. Kirby then kicked it and it swiftly collided with Pengy who got knocked off his feet. He got back up and chuckled. "Heh, not bad." Kirby shot more ice, which Pengy was able to dodge. However, that was all he was able to do now. Kirby was not letting up on his attacks. Pengy leapt behind the doorway of his castle. Kirby ran after him and jumped just before reaching the doorway. Pengy leapt out and shot out a huge blast of ice, but it was too late. Kirby had just landed behind him and before he could react, Kirby shot a continuous blast of ice at him.

Pengy quickly stopped attacking and dropped to the floor as ice began to slowly form on his body. Everything was fading away until! "s…to…p…STOP!" Kirby stopped his attack. Pengy heaved as he slowly got up. "…you…you win…heh…well played…"

"Fine," said Kirby. "Now defrost my friend."

Pengy chuckled. "Right…come on." Kirby followed Pengy outside. Pengy stopped in front of Poppy Jr. and began to inhale. It was as if the ice was being absorbed right off of his body. His facial color returned to its fleshy color. Slowly Poppy opened his eyes and yawned. "Kirby…? Where are we? Did we get the star…oof, I got a headahce" He slowly sat up and stretched.

Kirby helped him up. "The Sparkling Star's over there in Bubbly Clouds. Are you ready?"

Poppy shook his head as if trying to wake up. "…Yeah! I was just feeling a little groggy. Lets go!"

Kirby brought out the Warp Star and he and Poppy hopped onto it. The two shot off toward Bubbly Clouds

* * *

Meta Knight turned and walked away from the Fountain of Dreams. Blade saw Meta Knight and followed him. "Sir, where are you going?"

Meta Knight sighed, but did not turn to his comrade. "Kirby has taken too long. I am going to Castle Dedede…I will take the Star of Sealing myself."

To be Continued

Alright, see you guys tommorrow. Review please!


	26. Three Fronts

Alright, so I just got home and it's after midnight...phew...well here's the chapter. And thanks to my loyal reviewers.

Chapter 25

Three Fronts

It was now well in the afternoon as Sir Kibble entered Dream City. He noticed that there seemed to be quite a commotion at the castle in the distance. Had Waddle Doo's plan failed? He would find out soon enough. Reaching the castle was priority.

"Sir Kibble! Wait!" Sir Kibble turned to see Capsule J limp toward him.

"Capsule J…what happened?"

"I was attacked by Kirby's allies. We must reach the castle…I have no doubt that they are attacking."

Sir Kibble paused before responding. "You've been injured…can you fight?"

"As long as my suit is operational, I can and will fight. We have no time to waste." Capsule J blasted off toward the castle.

Sir Kibble continued toward the castle, but as he reached the city limit, he saw a blue blur rush toward the castle. Sir Kibble stopped for a moment. "…It seems that…for the moment my priority has changed…" He took off after the blur.

* * *

Knuckle Joe and Rocky faced off against the Cappies. General Shroom chuckled. "This is what all the commotion is about? Cappies take them out." The Cappies rushed at the two. Knuckle Joe launched a Smash Punch and knocked several of them back.

"Care to try that again?" smirked Joe. General Shroom growled and rushed at Joe. "Fine…Roundhouse!" Joe leapt into the air and kicked out an energy blast. General Shroom braced himself. The shot hit him but he was merely knocked back.

The Cappies then swarmed over Joe, tackling him to the ground. General Shroom then turned his attention to Rocky. "Oh my…well here goes." Rocky leapt above General Shroom and came crashing down. General Shroom dodged him and he hit the ground. General Shroom picked him up and slammed him back into the ground.

"I was humiliated in my last battle. But I will not lose again." General Shroom lifted Rocky over his head and threw him to the nearest wall which collapsesd as he crashed through it. "It looks like I am the victor."

"Says who? Vulcan Jab!" Knuckle Joe knocked away a bunch of Cappies. "I'm just getting started."

"Hmph…fine." General Shroom leapt into the air and dropped kick where Joe was…but since Joe moved out of the way, he didn't make contact. He was instead hit from behind by Rocky.

"…Cappies, restrain at least one of them." General Shroom got back up just in time to block a punch from Joe. He then grabbed his hand and almost effortlessly threw him to the ground.

Rocky was being subdued by the Cappies, but he was still able to jump into the air and crush a few of the Cappies. He tried to tackle General Shroom but was knocked back by Shroom's foot.

Knuckle Joe got up, but he was feeling weaker. He wasn't gonna let his opponent know that. "Heh…that all you got?"

General Shroom smirked, but before he could do anything, Capsule J landed into the center of the room. Shroom laughed. "Things just got a lot more interesting."

* * *

Kirby and Poppy Jr. had finally reached their destination: Bubbly Clouds. This place wasn't much different from the rest of Grape Garden. Clouds in every single direction save a single structure. At the top of a huge pillar of cloud stood a massive nearly open room, save a single wall. The Sparkling Star had to be up there. The Warp Star ascended the pillar and when Kirby came to the top, he saw nothing but a pedestal, a chair, and someone sitting in it.

"Welcome Kirby," said Waddle Doo. Kirby and Poppy Jr. got off the Warp Star and walked toward him. "Let's not waste time with small talk. Let's just get right down to business. You have three Sparkling Stars. You will give them to us and surrender to his royal highness, King Dedede."

Kirby smirked before responding. "I hate to disappoint you Waddle Doo, but I don't have the Sparkling Stars anymore. They've been taken back to where they belong. But I know you've got the fourth one, so here's a new deal. You give it to us now, and the two of us will just be on our way. How's that sound?"

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph…Waddle Doo, they don't seem willing or able to meet our demands, do they?" came the same voice Kirby heard from before.

"I'd say they don't boss." replied Waddle Doo.

"I'm not sure if I feel like dealing with these two yet…Waddle Doo, why don't you show them how our organization handles our clients' requests."

Poppy Jr. laughed. "What? Are you kidding? Kirby, does he really expect that guy to take both of us?"

The invisible voice now laughed. "You think I'd send in one of my own men if I thought he couldn't handle it? Waddle Doo, take care of them."

"Right boss," said Waddle Doo. "I might not seem very tough to you Kirby, after all you've gone through, you must think that defeating me will be simple, a spring breeze amongst the storms that you've faced so far." Waddle Doo brought out what appeared to be a stun gun. "But, there are two sayings that come to mind now…the first is that pride comes before the fall." Waddle Doo flipped a switch. A wave of electricity shot out and Waddle Doo lashed the ground in front of him. "The other is to never judge a book by its cover."

"I won't," said Kirby. "I would've never guessed that you were so poetic."

"I ain't," said Waddle Doo. He leapt from his position and thrusted the electric whip toward Kirby and Poppy Jr. They both jumped away. Poppy got out a bomb and threw it at Doo. This turned out to be a bad move as Doo lashed his whip at the bomb just after he through it causing it to explode. Poppy was knocked silly and hit the pedestal with a sickening thud. "One down already Kirby. Maybe you ought to surrender. It'd be a lot less painful."

Kirby glared back at Doo. "I'm getting that star, no matter what you do." Kirby ran toward Waddle Doo and ducked under and jumped over Doo's whip as he got closer.

Waddle Doo jumped back before Kirby could reach him. "You got skill, Kirby. But that ain't gonna be enough to defeat me...or my boss. Now I'm gonna have to take you out." Waddle Doo flipped another switch on his weapon. A large surge of energy was forming at the end. Kirby sprinted to behind the pedestal. "Times up!" Waddle Doo released the switch as a powerful blast hit the pedastal causing it to explode. Nothing was there afterwards. Doo quickly lashed his whip behind him hitting the Warp Star that Kirby had jumped onto during Doo's last attack. "Kirby I may have one eye, but it lets me see a lot more than most."

"Yeah but not everything," said Poppy Jr. Waddle Doo turned to see a bomb right next to him about to go off. One could almost see his three hairs drooping as he stared at the bomb which went off before he could do anything about it. Waddle Doo was knocked away. Kirby gave Poppy the thumbs up (how that was possible is a complete mystery).

"Well…it seems I've misjudged the situation again. I suppose I'm going to have to take care of you to myself. It has been a while since I've actually had to take out my clients target...but do not let create the illusion that you will survive. Allow me to introduce myself." A large blue eyeball rose out of the center of the room. Four clouds rotated around him. "I am Kracko."

* * *

Meta Knight now stood before Castle Dedede. Taking the Sparkling Star back would be a simple matter of time. Whoever stood in his way would fall. Just like the foolish knight who was trailing him right now. Meta Knight turned to see Sir Kibble. "Why do you follow me? Do you intend to impede me?"

"That depends," said Sir Kibble. "on what I learn within the next few minutes. Ever since I saw Kirby…and what he was capable of, I thought…could he be one of them…even though he calls himself a Star Warrior? And then…you show up…and even more questions are raised. Who are you, what is your interest with Kirby? I have some of the answers. You my friend, are called Meta Knight, leader of the Meta Knights, a supposed mercanery organization which hunts monsters and…rumor has it, majuu…and now that I know that I believe I have the link to you and Kirby."

Meta Knight was somewhat surprised. "You know…much more than I would have expected...Who are you?"

"Me? As I said, I am a loyal servant of King Dedede…but that is not all I am. However…I will say no more about that…if I am correct, you are no ordinary being...and as a result, in the end what I am here for is information…information that cannot be gained through words." Sir Kibble unclipped the blade from the top of his helmet and unsheathed his other sword. "Will you provide it to me?"

Meta Knight almost turned away…but something intrigued him about this soldier. The fact that he knew that the majuu still existed was enough to warrant his attention. The fact that he suspected a connection between them and Kirby was alarming. He pulled out his bladeless hilt. "Very well, however, if I come out the victor," a flash of light came from the sword as a golden spiked blade formed on the edge, "you will tell me what you know about the majuu and what you think their connection to Kirby is..."

Sir Kibble nodded. The two faced each other for less than a second. Then it began.

To be continued

As always, review please. There will be another chapter up...much later today in the day hours.


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